Cloud computing offers substantial and varied benefits for any size business or organization. Moving an on-premises computing environment to the cloud can save a company money, expose it to cutting-edge technology, and enable it to compete successfully in today’s business world. A majority of companies engage public cloud vendors to address at least a portion of their computing needs. 

There are environmental costs associated with almost every type of human endeavor. This is certainly the case with cloud computing, although this use of technology can also provide benefits to the world’s environment. Let’s look at the environmental benefits, costs, and how the greening of the cloud can change the equation in the future.

Cloud computing holds the promise of many technological advances that will impact society in a myriad of ways. There are definite economic advantages to leveraging the power of the cloud. Sometimes overlooked are the environmental benefits that may accrue from taking advantage of the cloud computing paradigm.