The Cloud, Data Center and Carbon emissions

7/17/2012- Votacall Hosted VoIP & Cloud Based UC Solutions- Boston, Massachusetts–Many people are miss-led when they believe that Cloud Computing is simply a computer and server within a cloud. The services of the Cloud must run on actual hardware and data storage. These data centers remain a huge part of this industry; with the main question...where should a company build their data center? There are many issues arising from this question that Hosted VoIP and Unified Communication providers must address. A huge issue is the carbon footprint left by the emissions of natural resources used to heat, cool and power these data centers. I am attaching a picture that shows how various regions of the earth vary by emmission ratings. The things that affect this rating is the humidity, weather and geographical terrain. For example, Oregon is a low emission rating site (https://www.mastodonc.com/dashboard ) because it stays relatively cool there and requires less energy to keep all the servers from overheating. Telecom companies want to have Mobility as to where they can build these huge centers, but the reality is it remains cheaper to build them in the desert or isolated areas because land and price of building is cheaper. You might think this is a positive, but if (for example) a Massachusetts VoIP provider built a data center in Nevada they would have to pay a high expense for cooling and powering the site. This expense would be smaller than the money saved by building in the dessert but that is without looking at the negative carbon footprint. Too keep the data centers running in a desert, an increase in natural resources for fuel is required and creates large amounts of emissions because its easier and cheaper for a company to use coal and gas as oppose to clean fuel power (hydro, solar and wind power). Some telecom corporations pride themselves with being "green" and supporting the activists trying to save our earth while others simple act like they care. In reality, most of these companies have a public image of caring but could care less about the environment if it meant they could earn or save another dollar. The IP-PBX system used with Cloud Communication/Computing has high benefits compared to the old Premise-based PBX systems. All the services and products allow companies to run more efficiently and hassle free. Because of these positives and the fact that the Cloud reduces communication expenses for companies, Would it be to much for them to spend a little of the savings into clean fuel power? Or spending a little more on a data center site by a river or wind tunnel? These are the questions and characteristics that separate companies from one another. Some customers care about the carbon footprint of a business while others don't care. I feel that if we as consumers leaned towards demanding a lesser carbon footprint, then businesses would be required to impact the environment positively and would ultimately allow for a better world for all.

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