Sustainable Use of Cloud Services : Cost Optimisation and Carbon Reduction

As businesses increasingly adopt cloud services, the associated costs and environmental impact are on the rise. The carbon footprint of the cloud now exceeds that of the airline industry, experiencing a yearly increase of 9%. The power consumption of a single data center equals that of 50,000 households. In light of the dual imperatives of sustainability and cost-effectiveness, enterprises must reassess their IT strategies and approach cloud services with greater responsibility.

Responsible technology involves actively considering the values, unintended consequences, and potential negative impacts of technology. When applied to the use of cloud services, it requires enterprises to establish policies, governance, and practices that minimize both costs and carbon emissions while maximizing business value.

This responsibility extends to various levels within an organization:

• Organizational Level: Enterprises should integrate the costs and carbon emissions of cloud services into their operational objectives, consistently monitor progress, and establish governance mechanisms.
• Team Level: Teams need to factor in sustainability, costs, and carbon emissions when selecting a cloud service provider.
• Employee Level: Employees should be conscious of best practices in architecture design and cloud service usage to minimize waste and implement environmentally friendly practices.

Achieving responsible use of cloud services is an ongoing process that necessitates changes in people, culture, technology, and other aspects of an enterprise’s cloud service usage strategy. In this blog post, we will delve into how organizations should approach responsible cloud within its internal systems, exploring key concepts that facilitate this approach.

Sustainable Cycle: Observation – Analysis – Enhancement

How did we achieve organizational sustainability? What was critical was something we call a sustainable cycle (monitoring – analyzing – optimizing) that helps manage costs and carbon emissions collaboratively within and across teams. Let’s explore how it works in more detail.

Ensuring the ongoing monitoring and enhancement of cloud service costs and carbon emissions is crucial for sustainability. To streamline this process, companies can leverage carbon tools provided by cloud service providers or opt for the Cloud Carbon Footprint open-source tool. Teams can then utilize data visualization to swiftly comprehend their cloud service usage and advocate for optimization measures.
The subsequent step involves analyzing the data and delving into overall trends in cloud service usage, identifying peaks, and recognizing abnormalities. Teams can pose critical questions, such as the appropriateness of the chosen computing service, potential underutilization of cloud services, and the existence of zombie workloads. The Green Software Foundation (GSF) has also released green software principles and patterns, offering practical recommendations for software practitioners to optimize cloud services.

After analyzing the data and pinpointing optimization opportunities, companies can develop and execute specific optimization activities. This process involves two essential components:

• Establish an optimized path by prioritizing tasks based on business needs, grouping them, and implementing step-by-step. Plan three types of work:
  • Low-hanging fruit (e.g., reducing task frequency, clearing zombie loads)
  • Quick impact tasks (e.g., compressing transmitted data, rearranging scheduled tasks)
  • High-impact initiatives (e.g., selecting greener cloud services, redesigning architecture, refactoring code)
• Integrate optimization tasks into project plans based on team priorities for effective implementation.
• Enhance team awareness of cost and carbon emissions and incorporate responsible cloud service practices into daily work processes.
• Companies can offer training courses and certification exams, such as those provided by the Linux Foundation and FinOps Foundation, to augment team members’ understanding of cloud costs and carbon reduction.

In conclusion, by continuously monitoring cloud service costs and carbon emissions, comprehending the data, and implementing optimization measures, companies can diminish their carbon footprint, cut costs, and advance sustainability. By fostering team awareness and embedding responsible cloud service practices, companies can instill sustainability into their culture and contribute to a better future.

Conclusion

Ensuring the responsible utilization of cloud services is crucial for achieving both cost optimization and carbon reduction goals. By adopting a sustainable cycle of monitoring, analyzing, and optimizing, companies can efficiently oversee and control both costs and carbon emissions. This approach demands commitment at the organizational level, collaborative efforts within teams, and increased awareness among employees. Through ongoing enhancements and the integration of responsible cloud service practices, organizations can actively contribute to sustainability, shaping a more promising future. If your organization is keen on enhancing its carbon footprint through cloud usage, feel free to reach out to us for assistance.