Microsoft plans to inform its customers in more detail about the potential use of energy at data centers used to host Azure cloud services for the public. With that information, customers can find out where to deploy their applications in the most efficient possible way.
The practice dovetails with the plan Microsoft unveiled last year to remove more carbon than it emits by 2030. It could also help the company stand out to prospective customers in its bid to become larger in the growing cloud-computing market, where Amazon leads.
Secretive
In general, companies that use these large computer centers have been secretive about their performance. Big technology companies spend billions to build them each year, and efficient use of them can be a competitive advantage.
But this year, Microsoft began distributing data on power performance in Azure data center “regions” – groups of data centers close to each other – to other customers under anonymity agreements, said Noelle Walsh, vice president of the company’s Cloud Operations and Innovation team.
“We will be increasingly transparent with some of those numbers,” Walsh said. Itemizing data center by data center might be too granular, but working by region is fine, Walsh said.
How Are The Data Centers Operated?
Walsh said the company would not share the information freely, for fear it might backfire.
“If everybody was to pick and choose, the overall optimum might not be the most green solution,” Walsh said.
In some parts of the world, such as Dublin and Seattle, it may be possible to display cool data areas, while in warmer climates, keeping computer infrastructure cool may require the use of chillers or other equipment, Walsh said.
“Our European clients are asking for more insight into the details of how we operate our data centers,” he said.
Sustainability Calculator
She said hyperscale data centers are 98% more efficient than data centers in the area where companies, governments and schools operate.
Last year Microsoft introduced the Sustainability Calculator which customers can use to track hot gas emissions from its use of Azure.
There are ways to reduce pollution at currently available data centers. Microsoft has tested liquid cooling for servers, and the company plans to try using batteries as an alternative to diesel generators — one source of emissions — to deliver backup energy, Walsh said.
The idea of learning more about efficiency in the data centers attracts Francesco Tinto, the chief information officer of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, using Azure.
“Even in our network, we are making other partnerships with other vendors in a way that we can decrease our carbon footprint, usage and so on. So absolutely, it’s top of mind for us,” he said.
Synopsis
Microsoft has begun sharing information on regional power use with customers who have signed non-disclosure agreements.
The company is exploring technologies that could help reduce institutional emissions in its data areas.
