It’s about time someone dispelled the myth that you must pay more to ‘go green’ in the hosting industry. Being green is not something you should be paying more for. It is essentially a value-added feature of good data centre environments, and should in fact reduce the cost of hosting with a particular DC.
Below is a short whitepaper written by Netwise Hosting to feature on a partners (NextConnex) website. It goes some way in explaining just why you should consider hosting your services at a greener data centre, and why this should actually cost you less than a like-for-like traditional data centre.
1) Carbon Reduction Commitments
In 2007, the British Government took their first real step towards actively combatting the growing threat of climate change, by establishing the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (formerly the Carbon Reduction Commitment). The aim of this reduction scheme is to bring the UK’s total carbon emissions down by 80% by 2050. Large organisations, SME’s and, most importantly, Public Sector Organisations are now very conscious of the ever-increasing pressure to adhere to stricter energy policies, and lead as positive role models to the public in acting on climate change.
Most people think of ‘carbon reduction’ as switching off a few more lights, or recycling more paper; the reality is that the core, fundamental functions of a modern organisation actually consume far more energy than they should be, simply because this consumption goes unnoticed.
An organisations information technology is undoubtedly the single largest drain on resources, yet remains absolutely vital to on-going operations, and sits hidden under the radar as a key area of concern in ‘going green’. As a core function of an organisation, cutting down on usage is simply not an option. This is where outsourcing all possible IT resources to a green service provider becomes a very attractive option, as green data centres have already invested heavily in reducing their own carbon footprints.
New innovative design ideas and technologies have allowed modern data centres to drastically reduce their carbon outlay, and pass on their energy-saving credentials to their end users – something otherwise impossible (or far too costly) to achieve with in-house IT services.
2) Ethical Practice
Ethics and ethical practices have directly fuelled the movement towards greener living and greener business practices. Organisations now feel an ethical responsibility to their customers and the environment as a whole to reduce unnecessary energy consumption wherever possible. Acting in-line with the collective ethical practices of society at large helps dramatically in improving the image of an organisation, solidifying its position as a responsible enterprise in the minds of the community.
3) Reduced Costs
Colocation services housed within greener data centres are often thought to command far higher price tags than more inefficient facilities. Though this statement may have held some truth five years ago, the reality is that today’s green data centres are often far more cost effective than first thought, as their own financial savings – linked to a reduction in their energy – bills are passed directly onto end customers.
While acting towards modern day carbon commitments is very important, it must still remain financially viable to do so – thankfully, a select few UK data centres now have the solution to this very real and growing problem.
In summary, it is everyone’s responsibility to act on climate change, and public facing organisations should lead from the top in bringing about cultural and social changes, making the switch to more energy efficient ways of working.
Choosing a green data centre is by far the simplest and most cost effective way of acting responsibly for your organisation.
Feel free to contact us for more information on how green data centres can benefit your business, and for a free Green Consultation to find out how you can make your hardware deployments work more effective and save you money.
