Green Cloud Computing: A Solution for Sustainable IT Infrastructure
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.
| Category | Google Cloud | Microsoft Azure | AWS |
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| How do they do? |
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| Key tools used |
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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:
- Make use of renewable energy.
- Improve the energy efficiency of the data center by increasing power usage efficiency (PUE).
- Reuse computer server waste heat to warm surrounding buildings
- Ensure that every piece of hardware is appropriately recycled after it has served its purpose.
- 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:
| Cloud Computing | Green Computing |
| Everything is centered on the provision of computing services over the internet, such as servers, storage, databases, networking, etc. | It all comes down to using energy as efficiently as possible when carrying out tasks. |
| IT services with a utility focus are made available to users globally. | It assists in performing the most work with the fewest computational resources. |
| Its key objective is to significantly improve the provision of IT services that are dynamic and cost-effective. | Its key objectives are to promote computing device usage and achieve economic viability. |
| It lessens waste production, carbon emissions, and carbon footprint, among other things. | It decreases the use of potentially harmful materials, boosts energy efficiency throughout the product’s lifetime, manages power and energy efficiency, develops environmentally friendly business practices, etc. |
| It boosts corporate organizations’ revenue and assists them in achieving their objectives. It also facilitates speedier communication, secure network collaboration, and the effective use of already available resources. | It helps businesses utilize energy wisely, lessens their carbon impact, improves their reputation, and keeps them operating on an energy-efficient diet. |
| Computer users can get their computing demands met through online services. | The amount of responsibility for environmental change lies with technology and computers. |
| It enables the business to diversify the infrastructure of its servers and network. | It enables businesses to enhance their recycling and disposal processes. |
| Reduced IT expenses, continued business operations, scalability, automatic software integrations, etc. | It reduces energy expenses, uses less electricity overall, is more affordable because it uses less power and requires less cooling, etc. |
| It is less economical than green computing. | Compared to cloud computing, it is more economical. |
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
Blogger's Profile
Vasanth Natarajan
Senior Principal – Consulting
Vasanth has over 17 years of experience delivering various customer architecture on the cloud platform, providing architectural advice, analyzing requirements, developing specifications, technical product knowledge, and technical reviews. He is a responsible technical consultant in helping customers to move their applications into the cloud and has expertise in legacy modernization, DevOps engineering, and cloud migration.
Bharath P.
Senior Consultant - Security
Bharath is a senior consultant for cybersecurity and GRC at LTIMindtree. He has extensive expertise in advising clients on cybersecurity, ESG, industry convergence, and technological change. He is a certified ISO auditor for most ISO standards. He engages in research, gap analyses, and management solutions to adhere to management compliance and manage compliance assessments, risk assessments, and auditing to ensure successful compliance and transformation journeys.
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