Energy Efficiency for Software and Services on the Cloud

The market for cloud computing services has continued to expand despite a general decline in economic activity in most of the world. Cloud computing is computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services. This Paper provides an in-depth analysis of the energy efficiency benefits of cloud computing, including an assessment of the software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) markets. It also highlights the key demand drivers and technical developments related to cloud computing, in addition to detailed quantification of energy savings and GHG reduction opportunities under a cloud computing adoption scenario, with a forecast period extending through 2020.