The cost of ‘cloud computing’ data storage services on the Internet can be cut by more than half thanks to new research by Dublin-based researchers at TCD and IBM.

Mathematical algorithms were used to develop a system called Stratus which allows companies to select the cheapest and ‘greenest’ cloud computing services on the planet.

All of the services on the Internet today are based in the ‘Cloud’, so Twitter, Facebook or Google mail requests are dealt with by one of thousands of PC servers located at a small number of warehouse-sized cloud-computing facilities around the world.

“The overall goal of the Stratus system is to allow companies to procure their cloud computing service in a way that best serves their priorities,” said Professor Donal O’Mahony, computer scientist at TCD.

“If they (companies) want to be super-green, it will shift the load one way,” said Professor Donal O’Mahony, Computer Science at TCD. “If they want to cut costs to the bone, it will shift it another way, or they can choose anything in between.

In their simulations, the scientists found that by tailoring the algorithms to reduce carbon output, they could achieve a 21% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions.

Likewise, by targeting electricity cost reductions, they could achieve a 61% saving over simply splitting the load evenly.

The research has been published in the augural issue of IEEE: Transactions on Cloud Computing. A copy of the full journal article is available here.