Digital technology currently generates around 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – and, according to estimates, may rise to 6.5 percent by 2040, if the technology industry does not act. This is in the face of predictions that electricity use in datacenters alone will double between 2022 and 2026, partly as a result of widescale AI workloads.
With the technology industry facing various legislation ordering it to tackle its emissions, French firm EasyVirt is offering data planners an “easy-to-use” platform to look into their systems. It claims it can help them make those systems more efficient and cheaper to run, and cut their carbon emissions at the same time.
The biz was actually set up in 2011, focusing on the efficient design of digital infrastructures on-premises and in datacenters, with a particular focus on VMware virtual machines. It launched its first DC Scope product in 2013, concentrating on datacenter infrastructure, and in 2020, it launched DC NetScope, focused on network deployments and efficiencies that could be gained.
With the third product, environment-focused CO2 Scope, which was launched in 2021, EasyVirt was able to drive up the number of its customers to over 100, and generate current annual sales of over €1 million – with a 30 percent increase since 2023.
As for virtual machines, François Machacek, EasyVirt business developer and green IT ambassador, reckons up to 80 percent of VM deployments are “oversized,” and that 5 to 10 percent of VMs are “useless.” Speaking at last week’s IT Press Tour in Valletta, Malta, Machacek presented various case studies covering how his firm’s technology had stripped out both resource and energy waste.
For instance, at nursing home provider Le Noble Age Groupe – which runs 70 establishments, employs 6,000, and uses over 900 independent healthcare professionals – the organization had deployed 400 VMs and 20 VMware ESX systems across several clusters. Using EasyVirt’s analysis and management tech, Le Noble Age Groupe was able to delete 10 VMs, and 15 were turned off “pending deletion.” This saved both cash and energy use across the organization.
Over at French insurance firm Groupama, EasyVirt was able to switch off two ESX systems at a regional operation, saving Groupama €15,000 a year on ESX costs. At television outfit TV5 Monde, 15 out of 300 VMware VMs were removed.
EasyVirt is currently developing the measurement of carbon use from GPU AI workloads. Next year, it won’t be just measuring carbon though. It also plans to enhance its offering to measure water use, eutrophication – damaging nutrient growth in water – and minerals and metals use. Also, it plans to include the automatic carbon weight of applications used, and a new regulations dashboard.
Already, EasyVirt counts Dell, Capgemini and CGI, and a number of international managed service providers among its partners. It plans to ramp up this channel to drive sales further, as IT users look to comply with widening environmental legislation.
There is a flexible pricing model too. Users can either purchase the tech with a yearly maintenance deal, or pay for a yearly subscription. Additionally, there is volume-indexed pricing, or a monthly subscription targeted at service providers.
“The further development of a partner network is key for us to truly scale up,” declared Machacek.
