Microsoft continues to introduce sustainability-focused cloud services. The latest effort involves Microsoft Azure Carbon Optimization, a new software tool now in preview.
The tool, according to Microsoft, "equips Azure developers and IT professionals with the data and insight to optimize the carbon footprint of their cloud consumption."
In a blog, the cloud software company emphasized five key Azure Carbon Optimization capabilities. They include:
- Granular emissions data at the resource level to proactively measure carbon emissions and identify areas of optimization.
- Optimization recommendations on how to reduce carbon emissions and cloud costs by deleting or rightsizing underutilized resources.
- Role based access control to make it easier to assign and manage permissions for viewing emissions data for individual subscriptions.
- Carbon equivalents to help customers visualize the environmental impact in more relatable terms, such as planted trees, to facilitate decision making.
- Integration with Microsoft Azure emissions insights (preview)Â to offer customers with deeper emissions analytics capabilities within Microsoft Fabric.
The company did not say when Azure Carbon Optimization will be generally available, nor did the company mention whether the tool involves additional costs beyond existing Azure subscription agreements.
What About Generative AI and Cloud Services Energy Consumption?
Also, we don't know if or how the tool helps customers to optimize Azure OpenAI Service workloads. In recent months, some partners and customers have expressed concerns about generative AI workloads consuming far more energy than traditional cloud and data center applications.
Amid that backdrop, the company in June 2024 announced a Datacenter Community Pledge -- which calls for the company to "design and operate our datacenters to support society’s climate goals and become carbon negative, water positive and zero waste before 2030." Around the same time, Microsoft invested in Touchcast, a generative AI and cloud caching startup that improves AI's energy efficiency. Early Touchcast partners include global IT consulting firm Accenture.
Rivals also are working to optimize generative AI workloads and their associated energy requirements. Discussions at the Google Cloud Next conference and the AWS re:Invent conference increasingly involve sustainability strategies.
Additional Microsoft Sustainability Software Tools
Microsoft Azure Carbon Optimization is one piece of the company's sustainability software portfolio. Example solutions include Microsoft Sustainability Manager and Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability.
On the partner front, Microsoft works with numerous channel partners and IT service providers to assist customers with their sustainability journeys.
Related: Microsoft's sustainability strategy & timeline.
