Why Moving to Azure is a Win for the Environment—and Your Business

Alex Hughes
Oct 22
3 min read

At IT Desk, we’ve been helping businesses across the UK transform their IT and digital operations for years. As part of our commitment to sustainability, all the electricity powering our Azure cloud services is backed by a mix of renewable energy guarantees of origin and nuclear declarations, certified by British Gas for the next three years. But what does this mean for your business—and for the planet?

The Carbon Emissions Comparison

We recently analysed the monthly carbon emissions of our customers using Azure, compared to what their footprint would look like if they ran their workloads on traditional on-premises servers. Here’s what we found (with customer names anonymised):

Customer	Azure Emissions (kg CO2/month)	On Prem Low Estimate (kg)	On Prem High Estimate (kg)
Elmwood Consulting	22.4	67.2	112
GreenTech Renewables	6.3	18.9	31.5
Oakfield Accountants	45.3	135.9	226.5
Silverline Engineering	9.3	27.9	46.5
Maple Foods	6.4	19.2	32
Horizon Supplies	2.0	6.0	10
Portland Health	4.4	13.2	22
Pete's Foods	6.5	19.5	32.5
Simple Logistics	27.5	82.5	137.5
Recruiter 404	18.4	55.2	92
Average	14.85	44.55	74.25

On average, moving to Azure reduces carbon emissions by over 66% compared to a low-end on-prem server, and by 80% compared to a high-end on-prem server.

Why Azure is More Environmentally Friendly than others

Cleaner Energy: While Microsoft Azure data centres are globally committed to sustainability—including a goal to run on 100% renewable energy by 2025—IT Desk’s own operations, including the support and services we provide around Azure, are powered by electricity that’s 100% backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) from British Gas. This ensures that our contribution to your cloud journey is aligned with your environmental goals.

Efficient Data Centres: Microsoft’s Azure data centres are engineered for maximum energy efficiency. They use advanced cooling technologies such as liquid immersion and outside-air economisation to reduce power consumption. Intelligent energy management systems optimise workloads across servers to minimise idle time and energy waste. Additionally, Azure hardware is regularly refreshed to ensure optimal performance per watt, meaning less energy is used for the same computing output.

Shared Resources: Cloud infrastructure like Azure operates on a multi-tenant model, meaning resources are shared across many users. This leads to significantly higher utilisation rates compared to traditional on-premises servers, which are often underused but still consume power. By pooling resources, Azure reduces the need for excess hardware and energy, helping businesses lower their carbon footprint while improving operational efficiency.

Beyond Carbon: Other Business Benefits

Scalability: Instantly scale resources up or down to match your needs—no more over-provisioning hardware or late upgrades.
Security & Compliance: Azure offers world-class security, regular updates, and compliance with industry standards.
Cost Savings: Reduce capital expenditure on hardware, maintenance, and energy bills.
Business Continuity: Benefit from built-in redundancy, backup, and disaster recovery options.

Case Study: Business Transformation with Azure and IT Desk

One of our clients, a fast-growing brand development company, faced challenges with capacity, cost optimisation, and IT management as they expanded globally. By partnering with IT Desk and migrating to Azure, they achieved:

Scalability and Flexibility: Azure allowed them to adjust resources on demand, ensuring they could meet customer requirements efficiently.
Cost Optimisation: The pay-as-you-go model eliminated large upfront investments in hardware, freeing up capital for growth.
Improved Operational Efficiency: Azure’s managed services and automation reduced manual IT tasks, letting their team focus on core business activities.
Enhanced Security and Reliability: Advanced security features and disaster recovery capabilities ensured their critical data was always protected.

This transformation not only improved their business operations but also significantly reduced their environmental impact by moving away from traditional on-premises infrastructure.

Real-World Impact

To put it in perspective, the average customer’s monthly Azure emissions are equivalent to charging about 1,800 smartphones. If they were running on-prem servers, that number would jump to over 5,400 smartphones charged per month!

Conclusion

Switching to Azure with IT Desk isn’t just a smart business move—it’s a commitment to a cleaner, more sustainable future. With certified green energy and a host of business benefits, now is the perfect time to make the switch.