Amazon Web Services (AWS) was launched in 2006 offering cloud computing services that provide customers with on-demand access to computing resources that can be expanded as needed. Cloud computing providers maintain data centers with server space that can be purchased by customers on a \u201cpay as you go\u201d model.<\/p>\n
AWS is the uncontested leader in the public cloud market \u2013 the company currently has both double the market share and double the revenue of its next three largest competitors combined [1]. With such a remarkable lead in a rapidly expanding market, it is difficult to imagine any of the other major players (i.e. Microsoft, Google, IBM, or Oracle) catching up anytime soon.<\/p>\n
To support their cloud infrastructure, AWS operates upwards of 38 data centers around the world [2].\u00a0Data centers use an incredible amount of electricity; in 2014, US based data centers consumed over 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. This represents about 2% of the US\u2019s total energy use and constitutes enough energy to power 6.4 million American homes [3].\u00a0Looking beyond 2016, demand for data centers and their subsequent energy use will continue to rise as we become more dependent on big data, video streaming, and other data intensive applications.<\/p>\n
As climate change is increasingly recognized in the global community, reducing energy demand is a promising avenue for lessening greenhouse gas emissions.\u00a0 Some regions in the US have already implemented regulations that force data centers to drastically reconsider their efficiency policies.\u00a0 For example, in early 2013, California passed a law that made energy more expensive to data center operators and thus incentivized data centers to make energy-efficiency improvements.[4]<\/p>\n
Beyond formal regulations, there are significant cost incentives for data centers to improve their efficiency, and many data centers have already taken great strides in this area.\u00a0 AWS operates with a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)[5]\u00a0of less than 1.2, which is notably efficient.\u00a0 The Uptime Institute issues an annual report each year on data center efficiency and found the average PUE for data centers to be around 1.7[6], however many large-scale providers run significantly more efficiently, even at a PUE of 1.07.<\/p>\n
There are many ways for data centers to increase their efficiency. Companies can choose more energy efficient processors and can intelligently design their cooling and air flow systems to prevent having to air condition or heat their facilities. Software can be used to increase the efficiency of older servers by pushing through more data and virtualization technology can be used to run multiple virtual servers on a single physical server, resulting in drastic increases in utilization and reducing the need for more hardware.\u00a0 One of the best ways to increase data center efficiency is to use software to identify servers that aren\u2019t operating at full utilization but are still using power (possibly due to the business unit no longer using the server). In one survey, data center operators reported that when investigated they found that between 5% and 25% of servers were not being used.\u00a0 The Green Grid (a non-profit consortium dedicated to improving the efficiencies of data centers) concluded that identifying unused servers could account for the cost of an entire new data center.<\/p>\n
In addition to the above improvements, Amazon is also focused on moving away from fossil fuels when it comes to powering their data centers.\u00a0 Amazon has pledged to reach 40% renewable energy by the end of 2016 and 50% renewable energy by the end of 2017.[7]\u00a0Amazon\u2019s long-term commitment is to hit 100% renewable energy by integrating wind and solar farms across the world. Current projects include building 100 megawatt and 189 megawatt wind farms in Ohio, a 208 megawatt wind farm in North Carolina, a 80 megawatt solar farm in Virginia, and a 150 megawatt wind farm in Indiana.<\/p>\n
Data resources will continue to be instrumental in the coming years as we increase our reliance on distributed cloud storage.\u00a0 AWS and other cloud storage companies have many opportunities to simultaneously reduce cost and GHG emissions. An interesting corollary can be drawn between data centers and the light bulb \u2013 electric companies worried that as light bulbs became more efficient, it would drive them out of business. Instead the demand for lights quadrupled [8]\u00a0– as we get more efficient, we often see a greater demand.<\/p>\n
Demand for centralized data storage will no doubt increase in the future. We must be cognizant as consumers of the services \u2013 if we want greater efficiency we must go to the companies focused on sustainability to signal it is important to us. Without the directive from customers, companies will only become more efficient as required by regulation or to the extent that it saves them money.[9]<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n [1] Conner Forrest, \u201cAmazon doubles its public cloud lead, can anyone catch up?,\u201d TechRepublic, November 3, 2016, http:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/amazon-doubles-its-public-cloud-lead-can-anyone-catch-up\/<\/span><\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n [2]\u00a0Amazon Web Services, \u201cAWS Global Infrastructure,\u201d https:\/\/aws.amazon.com\/about-aws\/global-infrastructure\/<\/span><\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n [3] Yevgeniy Sverdlik, \u201cHere\u2019s How Much Energy All US Data Centers Consume,\u201d Data Center Knowledge, June 27, 2016, http:\/\/www.datacenterknowledge.com\/archives\/2016\/06\/27\/heres-how-much-energy-all-us-data-centers-consume\/<\/span><\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n [4] Robert J. Mullins, \u201cNew global warming rules put the heat on data centers,\u201d Network World, August 26, 2013, http:\/\/www.networkworld.com\/article\/2169283\/data-center\/new-global-warming-rules-put-the-heat-on-data-centers.html<\/span><\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n [5] PUE is the ratio of the total facility energy to IT equipment energy. A lower number represents a more efficient data center.<\/p>\n [6] Yevgeniy Sverdlik, \u201cSurvey: Industry Average Data Center PUE Stays Nearly Flat Over Four Years,\u201d Data Center Knowledge, June 2, 2014, http:\/\/www.datacenterknowledge.com\/archives\/2014\/06\/02\/survey-industry-average-data-center-pue-stays-nearly-flat-four-years\/<\/span><\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n [7] Amazon Web Services, \u201cAWS & Sustainability,\u201d https:\/\/aws.amazon.com\/about-aws\/sustainability\/<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> accessed November 2016<\/p>\n [8] Jason Verge, \u201cMicrosoft: Centralization is Driving Energy Efficiency,\u201d Data Center Knowledge, April 30, 2013, http:\/\/www.datacenterknowledge.com\/archives\/2013\/04\/30\/microsoft-centralization-is-driving-the-frontiers-of-energy-efficiency\/<\/span><\/a>, accessed November 2016<\/p>\n