Cloud computing and the environment

How is your company working to reduce environmental impact, shrink the carbon footprint and move toward greener operations? One easy, fast and cost-effective way to accomplish all of the above is to use a cloud provider. Migrating even just a part of your organization to the cloud can let you take advantage of planet-saving technologies and commitments from some of the world's leading tech giants to make the world a better place through positive environmental policies.

It's been established that cloud computing offers the benefits of cost-saving, security, mobility and scalability, but many business owners don't yet realize how environmentally friendly the shift to the cloud can be. As major cloud providers make the public shift to renewables, smaller businesses can piggyback on their success to lower their costs and their impact on the planet.

Gartner estimates that by 2022, cloud shift across key enterprise IT markets will increase to 28%, up from just 19% in 2019. As infrastructure continues to modernize, more and more companies can take advantage of greening their image with cloud services.

Cloud services can shrink your carbon footprint.

Partnering with large cloud providers for positive environmental impact
Tied closely to the use of the cloud is the shift of many companies to a remote employee setup, which has significantly reduced auto emissions. This by-product of cloud service use directly impacts the environment on a large-scale basis, and many companies may keep all or part of their workforce remote even after the current global pandemic has ended.

Amazon Web Services, for example, has a commitment to be 100% carbon-free by 2040 according to their Climate Pledge, and even sooner than that, they say they should be completely reliant on renewable energy by 2025. They already have 127 renewable energy projects, including 59 utility-scale solar and wind projects and 68 on-site solar installation.

Microsoft Azure has already achieved carbon-neutrality (goal reached in in 2012) and aims for 100% dependence on renewables by 2025, and has additional plans to go carbon negative before the end of 2030. Microsoft Azure already manages to power its data centers with 60% renewable electricity, and plan to increase that to 70% by 2023.

Additional benefits of 'cloud-greening'
Moving to the cloud means decreasing carbon footprint and emissions, and increasing use of renewable energy. Access to the vast capabilities of highly efficient data centers is changing the impact of the average business on the environment, and spreading cost savings and energy conservation across the globe.

Practical benefits of cloud computing for the average company also include:

• Documents stored and shared from the cloud to multiple participants, making it easy to support and collaborate with a distributed workforce. Security can be enhanced and endpoint authentication required to reduce chance of access by unauthorized parties.
• Digital signage of important documents, security and time stamping, and streamlined bookkeeping and accounts payable. Resumes, business cards, contracts, and vendor arrangements can all be virtualized and centralized, reducing administrative time and costs. 

Overall, cloud computing benefits the environment, allows companies to save resources, and provides operation at greater efficiency and lower cost. Even if a complete shift to the cloud isn't possible, simply moving storage or computing into the cloud can significantly cut costs and reduce environmental impact.

This, combined with allowing employees to telecommute, can cut down on expenses associated with a large office and on-premise systems, helping minimize carbon footprints and improving efficiency.  Making a shift to the cloud is easy when you have the right technology to maintain strong connectivity.

Transform your on-premise setup by downsizing and upgrading technology instead of investing in additional space. Perle can help with the hardware you need to divert your approach from data technology to network technology and cloud connectivity. Read our customer success stories to learn more.