Benefits of virtualization
A study sponsored by Microsoft and conducted by Accenture in collaboration with WSP Environment and Energy found that businesses switching to virtual storage reduce carbon emissions by a significant amount.
CO2 emission reductions:
• More than 90 percent for small deployments of about 100 users
• 60 to 90 percent for medium-sized deployments of about 1,000 users
• 30 to 60 percent for large deployments of about 10,000 users
The smaller the company the greater the percentage reduction of carbon emissions.
The key elements that result in the reduced carbon footprint of cloud computing are summarized in the diagram below, but I will reiterate them here. Virtualizing allows for dynamic provisioning, modeling usage trends and only allocating the space needed for actual usage rather than consistently over-allocating. Large data centers also are capable of multi-tenancy, or supporting the data and applications of multiple organizations which results in a slightly greater load to the host data center but still a smaller overall load than if both those organizations hosted their own applications. Having more organizations use cloud infrastructure will allow the data centers to function closer to maximum capability, wasting less energy since they are designed to be able to operate higher than their current utilization and will otherwise waste a large percentage of the energy going in. Finally, it will increase data center efficiency, PUE, by decreasing the ratio of total power to IT power supplied to the data center.
CO2 emission reductions:
• More than 90 percent for small deployments of about 100 users
• 60 to 90 percent for medium-sized deployments of about 1,000 users
• 30 to 60 percent for large deployments of about 10,000 users
The smaller the company the greater the percentage reduction of carbon emissions.
The key elements that result in the reduced carbon footprint of cloud computing are summarized in the diagram below, but I will reiterate them here. Virtualizing allows for dynamic provisioning, modeling usage trends and only allocating the space needed for actual usage rather than consistently over-allocating. Large data centers also are capable of multi-tenancy, or supporting the data and applications of multiple organizations which results in a slightly greater load to the host data center but still a smaller overall load than if both those organizations hosted their own applications. Having more organizations use cloud infrastructure will allow the data centers to function closer to maximum capability, wasting less energy since they are designed to be able to operate higher than their current utilization and will otherwise waste a large percentage of the energy going in. Finally, it will increase data center efficiency, PUE, by decreasing the ratio of total power to IT power supplied to the data center.
Other studies have shown similar results, proving that mass virtualization is an effective way to reduce carbon emissions, and is certainly financially beneficial for the business who chooses to follow this path. Businesses who host their own information have to fund the technology, the cooling system, and IT personnel all on a smaller and less efficient scale than a large data center.
The reason more organizations have not jumped to switch to cloud infrastructure is the fear of not being in control of their information and applications. If the host center shuts down, through no fault of the company's own they will lose productivity and profits with no control over the situation. However, data center designs do emphasize having as little down time as possible, and availability statistics are increasing into the range above 99.99% on time. The risk exists, but as time goes on it is becoming more and more minimal.
The reason more organizations have not jumped to switch to cloud infrastructure is the fear of not being in control of their information and applications. If the host center shuts down, through no fault of the company's own they will lose productivity and profits with no control over the situation. However, data center designs do emphasize having as little down time as possible, and availability statistics are increasing into the range above 99.99% on time. The risk exists, but as time goes on it is becoming more and more minimal.
"Cloud Computing and Sustainability: The Environmental Benefits of Moving to the Cloud." (n.d.): n. pag. Http://www.accenture.com/. Accenture, 2010. Web. 28 May 2014. <http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture_Sustainability_Cloud_Computing_TheEnvironmentalBenefitsofMovingtotheCloud.pdf>.