Cloud Computing: Its direct and indirect impact on the planet

22 October 2021

What is cloud computing?

Before diving into the impact of ‘Cloud computing’ let see in short what it is. Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computing services such as storage, firewalls, kubernetes etc. without worrying about maintenance and scalability. Nowadays, there are various providers which provide a wide variety of cloud services including Big Data,AI  etc. Some of the known big names are Google cloud, Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS etc.

It’s direct –

Positive impact:

Cloud computing is more energy efficient, Scalable, Flexibility of work practices etc. As we know growth can be put backward, mean to say, demand for more computational power per head is growing day by day.

So, Cloud computing offers one such service that “pays only for what you require right now”, and you don’t need to worry about expansion. When you are done, somebody else will use the same resources.

A study funded by google showed that shifting commonly used applications to the cloud resulted in energy decrease by 85%. Also, a report showed an infrastructural increase of 500% has cost only 6% increase in energy consumption.

Negative impact:

When technology advances, companies have to replace the old one with more efficient and better equipment, which is generating a lot of e-waste. Also, most of these cloud houses use non-renewable sources of energy which inturn are major pollutants on the planets, that itself is a concerning thing.

Indirect impact:

All the digital boom we are seeing right now on the planet is an indirect impact of this service we call “Cloud computing”. With more people having the power to create without worrying about setting up large scale infrastructure(cost), things which are a hindrance to positive growth are also becoming easily available to the people.

Insight to future impact

Let’s look into the various possibilities cloud computing will be presenting to humanity in the coming 20 years. We will not look at things from a sci-fi point of view. We will be very practical and direct and I am sure, things will make sense to you.

Nowadays phones and computers have become an integral part of our life. Everyone carries about a thousand times more computational power in their pocket than supercomputers of the early 70’s.

My question is “ Why are you carrying a burden which makes your pocket heavy and empty(cost)? Have you heard about Google “STADIA”, it is changing the whole approach to the gaming industry. Now you don’t require a high end PC or machine to play your favorite title(still lacking various titles).

Days are not far when everyone’s phone, PC and workstation will be on the cloud and you don’t have to worry about the high cost you are paying right now for owning one.

If we are able to shift from having a personal cell to cloud cell( having a virtual device on cloud) from personal computer to cloud computer. It will result in a decrease in greenhouse effect on the planet and energy consumption to many folds.