By: Vasanth Natarajan and Bharath P.

Cloud computing that benefits the environment is called ‘green cloud computing’ when the company migrates its on-premises IT infrastructure to the cloud. It enables businesses to use energy-related components efficiently, including cooling systems, lighting, and computing equipment.

Jonathan Koomey, a subject matter specialist, emphasizes three parameters to assess the relative greenery of various clouds:

• The ability of a data center’s infrastructure (lighting, mechanical, electrical, cooling, and so on)
• The capability of its servers
• The source of its electricity generation

Major cloud providers were able to eliminate the inability in software and hardware, such as running virtual machines in their own data centers. By installing 3 star or higher energy efficiency cooling systems and hardware, automation is possible.

When an organization chose to move its data from internal local servers to the cloud, it was able to reduce its energy usage because of that choice.

Cloud sustainability - Comparison factors from the top cloud providers:

There are many factors to consider in determining the greenness of a cloud.

A summary of the most important factors to consider when decarbonizing can be found in the table below.

Green computing:

The term ‘green computing’ describes how computers are used in an eco- and resource-friendly manner.

It is also described as the study and application of planning, developing, producing, and disposing of computing resources with the least possible environmental harm. Utilizing internet computing services from a provider who has taken steps to lessen their impact on the environment is known as green cloud computing. Green cloud computing also refers to cloud computing with reduced environmental impact.

Internet service providers have taken the following actions to make their services more environmentally friendly:

1. Make use of renewable energy.
2. Improve the energy efficiency of the data center by increasing power usage efficiency (PUE).
3. Reuse computer server waste heat to warm surrounding buildings
4. Ensure that every piece of hardware is appropriately recycled after it has served its purpose.
5. Invest in hardware with a long lifespan and few to no harmful elements.

What is green IT?

Green IT (Green Information Technology) studies environmentally sustainable IT. By designing, producing, using, and disposing of computers and computer-related items responsibly, it strives to reduce the harm that IT operations cause to the environment.

There are differences between cloud computing and green computing:

Conclusion:

• Using the design principles and best practices supported by various cloud providers, we can make decisions on cloud security, cloud inventory, application performance, and resiliency, along with the sustainability outcomes for all cloud workloads.
• Every action we take to eliminate the usage of the various cloud resources and increase the efficiency across the workloads contributes to a reduction in environmental impact and organizations’ sustainability targets.
• Cloud service providers to report on the environmental effects of their operations and to operate sustainably. On the other hand, users of cloud services must do so in a manner that minimizes their carbon footprint by researching and comprehending how their use of the cloud affects it.

How LTIMindtree helping the customers in cloud sustainability?

“Technology is the backbone of any successful transformation.”

At LTIMindtree, we drive cloud sustainability transformation through our ESG tech ‘by-design’ solutions. One of the most important ESG offerings that collaborate with clients to provide Green IT solutions is ‘Sustainable IT.’

The following are the main objectives that will be enforced during the process:

• Adopt green software engineering and eco-design
• Rationalize data & applications
• Influence the green IT solutions to stretch beyond clients, their suppliers & partners
• Adopt core-flex resourcing model