How does Cloud Computing support sustainability?
What questions should your business ask a potential Private Cloud Managed Service Provider when it comes to sustainability?
A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that cloud computing can significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional IT infrastructure.
As a business, you have many priorities, including efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and innovation. But in today's world, sustainability is also becoming increasingly important. Consumers and stakeholders alike are demanding that companies take steps to reduce their carbon footprint and operate in a more environmentally responsible way.
Here are some of the benefits of cloud adoption from a sustainability viewpoint:
Reduced energy consumption
Cloud computing can significantly reduce energy consumption compared to traditional IT infrastructure.
With a private cloud infrastructure, you can optimise your use of server resources, reducing the need for physical hardware and associated energy consumption. Additionally, private cloud providers often use energy-efficient technologies and practices, such as virtualisation and server consolidation, to further reduce energy usage.
2. Lower carbon emissions
Reduced energy consumption translates to lower carbon emissions, which is crucial in the fight against climate change. By adopting a private cloud infrastructure, you can significantly reduce your carbon footprint and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability.
3. Reduced e-waste
"E-waste" is a term used to describe electronic waste, which refers to discarded electronic devices or equipment that are no longer useful or needed.
Cloud computing can help reduce e-waste, which is a growing environmental concern. By moving to a private cloud infrastructure, you can reduce the need for physical hardware, which will inevitably need to be replaced.
Private cloud providers can also ensure that e-waste is disposed of responsibly, further reducing the environmental impact.
4. Cost savings
Adopting a private cloud infrastructure can also result in operational costs savings for your business.
By reducing the need for physical hardware, you can save on capital expenditure, maintenance costs, and other associated expenses.
Additionally private cloud providers often offer flexible pricing models, allowing you to pay for only the resources you need and reducing wasted resources.
5. Improved reputation
Adopting a private cloud infrastructure can also improve your reputation as a sustainable and environmentally responsible business.
This can help attract environmentally conscious customers, investors, and other stakeholders, and position your business as a leader in sustainability.
Adopting a private cloud infrastructure for your business can provide a range of benefits from a sustainability viewpoint. By reducing energy consumption, lowering carbon emissions, reducing e-waste, and improving your reputation, you can demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and operate in a more environmentally responsible way.
According to a report by the European Union Joint Research Centre, a private cloud infrastructure can be more energy-efficient than a public cloud infrastructure, particularly for workloads that are consistently high in resource usage.
If your business is at the point of considering a restructuring of your IT infrastructure to align with your sustainabiltiy goals and aspirations, what questions should you ask a potential private cloud managed service provider to gain insight into their sustainability practices?
Cloud Geeni have put together a check list of questions to consider:
What is your organisation's overall sustainability policy and how does it relate to the data centre?
What measures have you taken to reduce the carbon footprint of your data centre operations?
How do you ensure that your data centre is powered by renewable energy sources?
Can you provide details about the energy efficiency and PUE (power usage effectiveness) rating of your data centre?
How do you handle e-waste and dispose of outdated or broken hardware?
What are your data centre cooling practices?
Have you implemented any server consolidation strategies?
Can you provide examples of sustainable data centre practices that you have implemented for other clients?
Do you have any sustainability certifications, such as ISO 14001 or LEED?
What steps do you take to educate your employees about sustainability practices and how do you ensure that they are being followed?
Asking these questions will allow you to gain understanding of how the potential private cloud managed service provider operates and how they prioritise sustainability in their data centre operations.
Cloud Geeni & Teledata
Cloud Geeni have partnered with our data centre provider Teledata since the inception of our private cloud platform.
Teledata have achieved several industry awards including the “Data Centre Energy Effceincy Project of the Year” award in 2020.
At Cloud Geeni we take our environmental commitments seriously and can offer tailored industry advice to your business, providing you with a framework towards both cloud adoption and creating a more environmentally conscious structure within your firm.
Partnering with Cloud Geeni
If you are a business owner or IT director within the professional services or manufacturing sector, Cloud Geeni are an experienced Private Cloud Managed Services provider well positioned to offer advice and strategies to ensure your business achieves a successful cloud migration.
Schedule a call with a Cloud Geeni expert to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Following your consultation we also offer a remote audit of your current infrastructure, providing a resource report that you can use to inform future decision making.