The era of cloud computing is upon us. The market for cloud services is expected to exceed $241 billion by 2020 and cloud providers are rushing to take advantage of the opportunity.
As cloud providers compete in a crowded market, environmental performance has emerged as a differentiator.
Cloud computing has always been an inherently greener choice than on-site solutions. Not all clouds, however, are equally green, and governments, activists, and customers are increasingly taking note of the greenness of various cloud offerings.
A truly green cloud is both "lean" (in terms of amount of energy used) and "clean" (in terms of energy sources).
Cloud providers who can demonstrate the cleanness and leanness of their offerings can help customers meet sustainability goals and stand to reap huge rewards.
This infographic walks you through the green benefits of cloud computing. Click on the image below to download a PDF of the infographic, including links to sources.
Cloud computing photo via Shutterstock.
I like the general premise
I like the general premise here, but there are some big holes.
1) Green Order only compares each company's best data centers, yet what matters is the mean and cumulative efficiency of each company's entire data center fleet as well as the cumulative cleanliness of the input energy for those fleets.
2) Footnote #12 is missing.
Sounds like a decent energy
Sounds like a decent energy credit for the LEED rating system.