How green is your cloud?

• Position: CLOUD - Cloud investments

Adoption of the cloud as a viable IT solution has grown exponentially during the past several years. In 2010, Forrester Research found that cloud investments were valued at $40.7 billion; by the end of 2013 it was expected to reach $150 billion as businesses of all sizes realize its increasing viability.

The rationale for moving IT services to the cloud centers on increasing efficiency and efficacy. Some also see it as an environmentally responsible choice; they consider the cloud to be a key feature of IT environmental sustainability.

According to the nonprofit association Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), cloud services are positive for sustainability: "The cloud encourages important clean-tech applications like smart grids and it also encourages consumers to use virtual services such as video streaming to replace resource-heavy physical products. The cloud also draws resources to where they are used most efficiently and its jobs tend to be cleaner and safer than those of more traditional industries."

Another nonprofit group, the Carbon Disclosure Project, estimated in a 2011 report that large U.S. companies that use cloud computing can achieve annual energy savings of $ 12.3 billion and annual carbon reductions equivalent to 200 million barrels of oil--enough to power 5.7 million cars for a year. Additionally, Pike Research predicted in its 2011 "Cloud Computing Energy Efficiency" report that data center energy consumption will drop 31% from 2010 to 2020 as a result of increased adoption of cloud computing.

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