TECH & AI
The first commercial cloud was launched by Amazon in 2006 , with widespread adoption really finding its feet – including the launch of Microsoft Azure – in the early 2010s . 5G is a slightly newer technology , with deployments starting in 2018 .
Both technologies are widely used today – what role do they play in sustainability ?
We spoke to Faith Taylor , SVP Sustainability , ESG & Impact Officer at Kyndryl and Blessing Makumbe , VP and Head of Cloud Software & Services at Ericsson UK & Ireland , about how cloud and 5G can impact sustainability – both positively and negatively .
“ Digital technology stands as one of the most powerful and scalable tools the world has to tackle climate change ,” Blessing says . “ Research shows that it has the potential to reduce global emissions by up to 20 % by 2030 , as new technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing energy efficiency and automation , leading to reduced emissions .”
WHAT IS CLOUD COMPUTING ?
AWS says that cloud computing is the delivery of computing services – including servers , storage , databases , networking , software , analytics and intelligence – over the Internet (“ the cloud ”) to offer faster innovation , flexible resources , and economies of scale .
94 June 2024