SaaS and the Environment
The Green Debate
In many cases, cutting costs in business goes hand-in-hand with maintaining the earth’s natural environment. Web-based software is increasingly popular as organizations seek to optimize their technology to run more efficiently. However, there is some debate over whether or not the use of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) as opposed to on-premise software actually reduces the negative effects that business has on the environment. There are several good reasons why the use of SaaS should be considered a green initiative, but for the sake of argument we will also touch upon the rebuttal.
How SaaS is Environmentally Friendly
1. Electricity Use Reduced, Thus Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduced
How does SaaS reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Since the delivery model of SaaS consists of a vendor providing web-based software to another organization, it enables the organization it serves to reduce their server usage. In other words, the SaaS provider hosts the software from a separate server on which it typically uses to provide many businesses with that single application.
This model can be compared to public transportation. Instead of every person driving their own SUV with the intent of arriving at the same destination, a large group of people share a bus to arrive together, which results in reduction of fuel use, thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
With SaaS, instead of having each client use its own server (which usually isn’t used to its full capacity) to support on-premise software, the SaaS provider can host many organizations on a single server. This results in the reduction of electricity use and wasted electricity, which in effect reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air as a result of electricity generation.
2. Web Access Enables and Eases Telecommuting
If an employee needs to work away from the office, it is easier for them to access software via the web rather than having to either come into the office just to use the software or to go through extra steps to access the software remotely. For companies that haven’t been able to utilize telecommuting, SaaS makes it easier to adopt this practice. Since accessing software solutions such as CRM applications through your web browser is quick and easy, employees can cut down on transportation, which in turn reduces the carbon dioxide emissions that we discussed above.
3. Replacement Rate of Computers Decreases
Companies often find themselves upgrading their computers to fit the needs of an on-premise software solution. Since SaaS doesn’t consist of a program being installed on your computer and using your computer’s processing resources, you just have to open a web browser to access it. This means that you are not required by the SaaS application to get rid of your computers and buy new ones to fit its specifications. In addition to saving time and money, the benefit in this is that you can reduce the amount of e-waste (electronic waste) you produce. The more e-waste that is produced, the more likely it is that harmful contaminants are released into the environment when they are handled after the company gets rid of the computers.
This also reduces the amount of equipment shipped to your business which can also decrease carbon dioxide emissions by reducing fuel consumption. While this doesn’t seem significant as it applies to just one organization, if you think of thousands of firms collectively decreasing their shipments, it makes a difference.
The Rebuttal
Despite the fact that SaaS vendors can provide their solutions to many clients from a single server, some people claim that using SaaS doesn’t actually do anything about the carbon dioxide emissions. They claim that using someone else’s server means you are just transferring the environmental burden to someone else, which is just enabling the cycle to continue. Also, some claim that there is no standard way to measure efficiency of cloud computing and that by introducing SaaS, people are just creating another need for energy consumption. Data centers, which house application servers, are noted for consuming a lot of energy. However, it is important to keep in mind that there are energy efficient data centers and to take into consideration the amount of energy used at each individual client organization if on-premise software is used.
The Conclusion
Embracing environmentally-friendly business practices may seem like old news at this point, but it is actually important to keep up with new trends. Doing this will not only enable you to be more environmentally responsible, but to also cut costs as a result and allow you to better serve your clients. Remember - it also doesn’t hurt to choose a SaaS provider noted for its internal environmental efforts such as recycling and energy efficiency initiatives such as having office space that is LEED certified.