Growth of Cloud Computing Will Yield Large Reduction in Energy Usage

The rapid growth of cloud computing could reduce energy usage in the global information technology industry by 38 percent by 2020, according to a new report. Cloud computing refers to Internet-based computing in which data and applications are shared between computers on demand, rather than hosted on a separate server. According to Colorado-based Pike Research, much of the computing currently done by businesses with internal data centers will be outsourced to more efficient cloud data services within a decade. That investment will yield “industry-leading rates of efficiency” and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, according to the report. “Simply put, clouds are better utilized and less expensive to operate than traditional data centers,” the report says. The report projects that the market for cloud computing will jump from $46 billion in 2009 to $210.3 billion in 2015.