ECO-FRIENDLY WEB HOSTING

With the increased use of internet these days, small and large scale businesses and entrepreneurs have realized the importance of marketing through the web. Internet has become a publicity tool for everyone who needs to make their presence felt. Every nook and corner of the world has access to the internet, and to the services available over it. Hence it becomes important for initial startup firms to have a website of their own, and create a definite position in the big fat web world. After creation of a website with the right content and design, the next step is to choose a source to host this website. This is the most strenuous and laborious task.

A web host has to be selected depending on the user’s requirements. There are a wide variety of web hosting options to choose from with each one trying to grab the attention of potential clients. One can opt for shared hosting, dedicated hosting, or meet the two in the form of VP (virtual private) server hosting. As if this was not enough, there is another hosting option available on the block called ‘Green Hosting’. This is one sustainable trend of hosting that has taken the internet world by a storm.

To define in layman’s terms, all the internet stuff that reaches every desktop, laptops, Tablets, and phones does not exist in outer space. It is getting processed in servers that have been housed in the facilities of the hosting firms. The only obstacle is that these servers are the consumers of a large amount of electricity and resources. The amount of fossil fuels used to power the servers in order to meet the ever growing demands of the internet is infinite. Some data centers and data storage facilities have come under the scanner for their excessive usage of power and other exhaustible resources. Hence some companies are deploying stringent procedures to facilitate eco friendly operations in their centers. Here is a check list that might garner some interest-

Virgin technology: It is a known fact that as server technology improves, operational efficiency also increases. Some companies have adopted a new strategy of using only the new servers. This has been a great move to reduce carbon footprint. Brain Host has been one such company and it states that newer technologies help reduce hot spots, and enable operation of efficient and less polluting servers.

Wind energy- The savior

Some companies have followed and are following a different track. They have not completely abandoned the concept of newer technologies, but have tried to offset their carbon footprint by purchasing wind credits. Green Geeks is one such company.

Companies do not like to run all their servers on wind power alone. Wind energy is one form of energy that largely depends on the geographical conditions of a region. It is a little too inconsistent. Inconsistent energy is not the right choice for centers that house enormous amounts of data. Companies have made a choice by combining the use of both fossil fuels and wind energy. Web hosting companies make use of energy from the existing grids, and then purchase wind credits to offset the fossil fuel energy that they used.

Location at its best: Some companies just take the credit for being situated in the best designed location. All that these companies had to do was to find the right location that best suits their current requirements, and future prospects. Iceland is one such location. The available geothermal and hydroelectric energy accounts for about 100% of all the electricity used.

Of course, green energy is not cheap, but it is definitely a good start towards being eco friendly.

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