Energy-efficiency indicators for e-services

Great strides have been made to increase the energy efficiency of hardware, data center facilities, and network infrastructure. These Green IT initiatives aim to reduce energy-loss in the supply chain from energy grid to computing devices. However, the demand for computation comes from software applications that perform business services. Therefore, to measure and improve efficiency for entire systems, energy-efficiency indicators are needed at the level of services. We have designed an initial set of indicators for energy-efficiency of e-services and we have tested them on two e-government services of the Dutch national government. We explain how these indicators serve as a starting point for energy-optimization initiatives, supported by appropriate contractual agreements between service owners and suppliers.