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In a business climate that is seeing more people outsource their information needs (from call centres to India to advertising across continents), employ flexible working models (either work-from-home employees, or those that are constantly on the go), it is evident that data can no longer be a static entity. 

A recent report from IT research firm Gartner has estimated that consideration of geographic location is essential to efficiently using The Cloud sustainably. Savings of up to 30% could be made with efficient technology design and lower upfront costs. 

“Truly sustainable computing needs to combine energy-efficient technologies and the use of reliably available low-emission electricity, which may prompt significant changes to the geolocation of data storage and other services in the long term” - Marcus Blosch, research vice president at Gartner.

Consider your average office space (typically rented out per square metre). How much of that is eaten up by expensive hardware - storage space bought before it becomes useful - cabling and fittings? How much is invested in installation, health and safety, electricity, and technical support? Does it make economical or environmental sense to invest in this physical infrastructure that increases all your overheads, clutters your employee work space, and is not used to full capacity? 

Gartner conducted its research in Australia; it cites the nation’s high dependency on fossil fuels and compares it to the relatively green energy sources of nearby New Zealand, which it terms a “low-emission” country. Low-emission countries have often been accused of data-latency (a bigger scale version of the mouse arrow turning into an hourglass (Windows) or spinning circle (Mac)). Blosch suggests that these issues can be resolved by “[leveraging] these countries into a network of IT service regions. Data storage and services from a low-emission hub could support the assessment of cloud services from adjacent high-emission intensity areas." In other words, the green points earned by low-emission countries can support, and in turn benefit from, a networked association with higher-emission countries thanks to the Cloud. 

With geographic distance comes a lot of controversy surrounding data privacy and communications infrastructure. What if connections go down? What if data laws differ between countries in a way that makes information vulnerable? 

Aren’t these exactly the problems we encounter with Cloud services? Of course, if you are working remotely, and your Internet connection goes down, you no longer have access to the data required. But this is not exclusive to Cloud systems. Networks also run throughout single buildings, with a number of computers wired to a physical server in the same place - and these connections go down just as often. Worse, though, is the fact that as the physical server sits in your office, it is nowhere near a technical support team or engineer, prolonging the time spent away from the data hub. Unlike the Cloud, where the servers and support team are in close proximity. Furthermore, physical servers only have a finite number of data-saving solutions. By contrast, the nature of the cloud makes data retention more secure. There has also been talk that the popularity of hosted servers could push into effect a reassessment of international data law, something that has been overdue for several years. 

It is important to note that energy efficiency does not necessarily equal a reduction in overall energy consumption. Indeed, it is arguable that with cloud systems and mobile technology, consumers and businesses will be encouraged to be more active than ever, increasing interest in the tools made available by Cloud computing. As this Cnet article explains, “the increased efficiency of the hardware components in most cloud data centers and the increased utilization of these components mean that we are almost certainly doing more work per unit of energy consumed than before”. In other words, we are getting more bang for our buck with cloud services; a better ROI.

Cloud computing reduces your carbon footprint because it reduces a waste in electricity consumption - i.e. you will get more out of your electricity bill. This in turn increases the lifespan and sustainability of your “equipment”, reducing the frequency for engineer call-outs - who will be close to your server when you do need them anyway. You will also save on office rent. Even if you don’t care about the environment, that’s a 4-pronged money saving strategy.

Call Fitzrovia I.T. now on 0207 8748827 to discuss how cloud computing can help your business.