The economic and climate impact of the information age is extraordinary. Take this simple example:
The year 2012 saw the first-ever video on YouTube to accrue one billion views, a record which was topped only six years later by the ever-catchy Despacito, gathering five billion views online in 52 weeks. To stream the video five billion times that year, the power required by YouTube’s data centers was equivalent to what is needed to power 40,000 US homes for a year.
The big cloud and data center providers are as aware of statistics like these as much as anyone is — perhaps more so, given that they pay the utility bills. Several household-name technology vendors right across the IT sector have announced far-reaching targets to reduce, and even try to reverse, the impact their activities have on carbon emissions.
It’s becoming critically important that ecological impact and sustainability are taken into consideration in any company’s procurement processes — customers and clients are increasingly insisting on carbon transparency. Many organizations use their green credentials to set themselves apart as a more conscientious choice in what might otherwise be very crowded, competitive verticals.
The cost of renewable power has now fallen to a level where it has reached parity with “traditional” (i.e., dirty) power generation and wholesale prices in many parts of the world. Companies are no longer forced to pay a premium for utilities that are carbon neutral.
Several countries in the world are so blessed with having natural, renewable resources (sun, wind, and water, primarily) that companies based there get to use 100% renewable compensated energy, paying less for that energy per kWh than in other less-blessed nations.
While it’s not practical for organizations to uproot to chase down green and cheap electricity, there’s one facility used by just about every business in the world that can be sourced environmentally and cheaply: data centers. To put it mildly, they are the powerhouses of the digital age.
At Tech HQ, we’ve been looking at several options for data center services in Europe that offer the magic combination of varied carrier options, an availability of significantly fast connections, modern facilities, low power costs, and some very sound ecological approaches.
In a previous article, we looked at the technical aspects of Conapto’s co-location and other DC/cloud offerings. Conapto is in Sweden and therefore benefits from some of the lowest electricity prices in Europe. It was also the first data center in Sweden (itself a very forward-thinking society regarding environmental issues) to be 100% certified climate neutral.
Its facilities are powered only by 100% wind power compensated energy, with plans to expand into solar energy, and one of the major by-products of data centers — unwanted heat — is redistributed to the local area’s heating network for use in businesses and homes.
Organizations that have integrated sustainability into IT procurement will find resonance in the Conapto approach, ensuring the lowest possible PUE (power use effectiveness) for all its facilities and the hardware they house.
Even in a country that leads the world in terms of ecologically sound and sustainable practice, Conapto stands out. Its green credentials combined with secure and robust data center facilities makes it a compelling choice in today’s European data center market.
Facilities include fast interconnectivity direct to multiple public clouds and to IXP-level infrastructure provided by Netnod, a long-term Conapto partner. The data center services on offer promote responsiveness, agility, scalability, and speed at whatever required scale — all with no crippling, long-term contracts. It’s an ideal partner for edge deployments close to your Northern European users or is increasingly leveraged as the point-of-presence for many European companies.
If you’re looking for hosting or co-lo that’s cloud connected and a leader in its offerings in both technology and ecology, speak to one of its team members today to discuss your requirements.
