Cloud computing benefits the environment

While many companies and organizations have begun adopting cloud computing as a cost-effective method for managing IT services and potentially increasing productivity, a recent Forbes blog post found the cloud carries many environmental benefits as well.

The cloud offers businesses the ability to operate their applications more efficiently, which has an environmental impact, as a reduction in emission takes place. Four major factors are involved in creating this reduction - dynamic provisioning, multi-tenancy, server utilization and data center efficiency.

Regarding dynamic provisioning, cloud operators are able to match server capacity to demand shifts, where normally, an over-provisioning of cloud servers can become expensive. With multi-tenancy, many major cloud providers can serve millions of users at various companies simultaneously on one server, instead of the large number otherwise needed.

Server utilization is the measurement of the portion of a server's capacity that an application uses. Cloud computing improves server utilization, which, in return, saves energy. Data center efficiency relies on how effective these facilities are constructed, equipped with IT and other infrastructure and how well the centers are managed. The tighter these centers are run, the less energy is used. Thus, employing a managed IT service, such as cloud computing, drastically improves these center's overall efficiency.

So while the cloud computing market is expected to increase to $2.4 billion by 2015, according to an IDC report, the environment will also be benefiting, in addition to the adopting companies.