Marissa Tejada| Midsizeinsider
One reason midsize firms turn to cloud computing is to save money through increased productivity. A new study shows that the cloud is also leading to energy savings. The business apps that most companies run on a daily basis can move to the cloud to help cut energy use and energy bills.
Moving and Saving
The study, conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Northwestern University and commissioned by Google, found that email, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and word processing could be moved into the cloud, and as a result companies could, in some cases, slash energy use by 87 percent. When moved to the cloud, email racked up the most savings, since more employees use it and it’s usually living on servers within company walls.
The six-month study, detailed in Computer Weekly, aims to analyze, for the first time, the difference in carbon footprint between the cloud and traditional computing. Past research has focused on data center consumption rather than on IT services provided through the cloud. In fact, researchers found that a cloud migration can save up to 23 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
More Savings for Midsize Firms
Tight resources, limited staff and time are top concerns for midsize firms. The cloud has helped IT pros make use of these limited resources by increasing productivity through cost savings. The recent study on energy consumption is further proof that implementing the cloud is a positive for any firm. Just as enterprises no longer need to rely on server farms, growing firms also don’t need to rely so much on their in house data centers and their significant energy costs. Growing firms welcome any energy savings, from both an environmental perspective and to help meet financial goals.
Since midsize firms have no room for waste, the cloud remains a great option as a scalable and flexible solution. Cloud computing ensures a midsize firm uses what it needs and grows when it needs, too. Resources that are necessary are used. Nothing is left idle.
Energy Efficiency Minded
The recent study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Northwestern University and Google aims to quantify cloud energy savings. It’s an important analysis to help midsize firms further believe in the potential of cloud technologies. By simply moving common business apps to the cloud, midsize firms can realize a new level of efficiency and productivity that is also helps cut energy waste. Savings in any form are very important for growing firms.
