Digitalization of all media is inevitable. Just as the stone tablet was replaced by the scroll and the scroll replaced by the book; books are gradually being replaced by digital formats. It is unlikely that books will disappear entirely, but we are unlikely to return to a time where printed books are as immediately accessible as digital options.
It is for this reason, amongst others, that the data center is now so widespread.
An architect isn’t the only person required to build a building. Neither is an electrician, or a bricklayer. No, a combination of skills and abilities come together to realise the goal of completing a building. And the better the quality of those individuals and the resources made available to them, the better the quality of the building.
The same applies to the issue of cloud data storage.
If a company builds highly efficient computer servers and then decides to install those servers in a datacenter which is running on fossil fuels, the potential environmental benefit of that hardware solution is significantly reduced.
Now, if those same efficient servers are installed in a datacenter which runs on renewable energy, but the software and operating systems on those servers do not manage that data efficiently; additionally the data is written in a manner which ignores good coding and file size management principles, again the true capability of that solution is significantly reduced or perhaps, negated.
Therefore in addition to every benefit outlined above, steps should be taken to ensure best-practice in coding, a Master Data Management approach which applies de-duplication should be vigorously adhered to, computing technology should place as much emphasis on efficiency as is currently placed on performance and the end user should decide if uploading cat videos to social media is indeed the best use of their time and resources.
It takes a village…