Green Cloud Computing
As the cloud proliferates to accommodate increasing amounts of data, energy requirements are also rising. How important is the energy efficiency of cloud providers? Will green cloud computing help organizations meet their sustainability goals?
One minute insights:
- Leaders whose organizations have deployed green cloud computing are satisfied with it
- Most who have not yet deployed this technology plan to, most often in order to meet Paris Agreement requirements
- Legacy technology and lack of sustainable cloud options are barriers to adoption
- Leaders expect green cloud computing to play a role in the future of business
Leaders have a good understanding of green cloud computing and are mostly satisfied with their deployment of it
Most leaders (63%) who are aware of green cloud computing also understand how it works. 12% consider themselves experts on the topic.
While 41% of those currently deploying green cloud computing are only moderately satisfied with it, 42% are very satisfied. 12% are still too early in their deployment to say.
This is another hype in the industry. But it’s a necessity for companies to be ethical and sustainable.
Moving to the public cloud effectively gets you a fairly carbon-free computing environment. So the challenge is: what more should you do that will have a material impact? What should we focus on beyond just carbon? Is being a frugal programmer useful, even if the real impact is limited in terms of carbon?
Paris Agreement requirements and efficiency are driving adoption but legacy technology and cloud challenges act as barriers
Of those who are not currently deploying green cloud computing, 40% are planning to or are in the development stage. 43% are not planning to, but believe that they should.
The Paris Agreement requirement for the information and communication technology industry is the main driver for green cloud computing adoption, cited by 50% of respondents. Many are also driven to adopt this technology to improve end-user experience (39%) and reduce costs (39%).
Leaders point to lack of sustainable replacement for legacy technology (50%), impracti- cality of cloud migration for business operations (47%) and difficulty finding sustainable cloud options (47%) as barriers to green cloud computing adoption.
It is [an] extremely important initiative as part of our ESG goals and will soon become board priority.
[Green cloud computing is] a nice thought but not realistic for some companies to entertain.
Leaders see a future with green cloud computing impacting business and society, without making fundamental changes to either
72% of respondents believe that green cloud computing will have a role to play in the future of business, but only 16% believe it will become a fundamental aspect of business.
Similarly, most leaders (54%) believe that green cloud computing will impact our lives without fundamentally changing society.
I think publicly traded organizations and organizations that have to uphold a social responsibility status will adopt and drive green cloud computing, with increased cost and no tangible financial or IT benefit.
Green computing is an awesome concept in principle. But with more interest in the bottom line it has a long way to go to be a topic in the boardroom.
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