There’s a lot of information out there about how cloud computing is better for the environment. A Microsoft, Accenture and WSP Environment and Energy study compared the environmental effects of Microsoft cloud computing and traditional, on-premise IT and when it comes to CO2 emissions, cloud computing prevailsThe official report indicates that for the most part and in the majority of cases, CO2 emissions reductions by deployment size are:
- 90+ percent for small (about 100 users)
- 60 to 90 percent for medium-sized (1,000 user)
- 30 to 60 percent for large (10,000 users)
For the smaller businesses, this data seems to make sense because the operation of individual servers for each individual small business will emit more CO2 than if a large number of small businesses stored their data together in the same place on cloud servers.Another clear advantage for the environment is decreased waste. The less individual on-premise servers companies have, the less servers die and become junk. Think about it: servers last 4-5 years on average. In storing your data in the cloud, or in an off-site data center storage center, this makes a huge difference in minimizing waste and disposal issues.The findings of the Microsoft study can be found here. It’s a good read- check it out.
