carbon reduction thru digital delivery

Vertatique (Sep 10 2009) Carbon Footprint , Cloud Computing

1. Product download is now a delivery option for sellers and purchasers of large digital items such as movies, games, and software. A study comparing digital delivery with off-the-shelf retail purchasing gives us an idea of digital download's carbon reduction potential. The WPS study of Microsoft Office distribution concluded that "digital delivery reduced total tonnes of carbon emissions by 88%." Is this a realistic savings for digital delivery purchases from most sellers and distributors? Probably not, for two reasons. First, Microsoft is driving the energy efficiency of its data centers very aggressively, aiming to dramatically reduce the energy going to cooling and other supporting functions. Second, the WPS/Microsoft analysis is based on 10 million downloads, which allows for exceptionally good capacity utilization. Many data centers inside or serving small businesses operate below these efficiency and utilization levels. This is a compelling argument for virtualization and other Green ICT strategies ... (Read Full Article)

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