The Wall Street Journal has what seems to be just another article about Foreign Direct Investment by an internet company - Google. But it is much more profound than that. Welcome to the Enviro-Business Model.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904836104576560551005570810.html
Companies all over the world have been shaving and sawing off costs everywhere they can for a long time.
Old News. People call these frictions. Or basically anything that inhibits or slows down, any barrier to business.
Whether that means more time, more money, more materials, more info processing, higher labor costs, operational costs.... Everything is on the chopping block.
And this article points to the next trend: Enviro-Restructuring. That is, businesses looking for ways to make their business more harmonious with nature so as to save money with the ultimate aim of becoming more competitive.
In Google's case, they've come to the not-hard-to-understand conclusion that their data centers eat up an enormous amounts of energy. Energy that impacts their expenses and competitive position vis-a-vis rivals.
Solution? Locate the data centers somewhere cold. Where the ambient temperature helps cool the servers.
When you think about it, it's so perfectly logical one almost wonders why it hasn't been done already. Why? Because in the West, since the Industrial Revolution and the advent of Germ Theory and vaccines, we have tended to ignore nature.
There has been a lot of arrogance. A real attempt to defy and live beyond the laws of nature. What has followed in its path is a destruction and degradation of the planet. And of course, the reaction to that - Environmental Extremism.
But I see a reversal. A tacit, quiet admission. Tentative. But unmistakable. Business is realising that while it has never been cost effective - now the competitive pressures are laying bare costs that were formerly hidden or ignored.
Internet companies are truly on the leading edge of so MANY trends that are reshaping our world, but look to see more and more companies around the world following Google's lead.
First it will be internet and other technology companies. But within a year or two it should start to broaden to other industries.
Here's the takeaway: Is your company ready when this wave hits? Or will you be left behind?
Watch the wave...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904836104576560551005570810.html
Companies all over the world have been shaving and sawing off costs everywhere they can for a long time.
Old News. People call these frictions. Or basically anything that inhibits or slows down, any barrier to business.
Whether that means more time, more money, more materials, more info processing, higher labor costs, operational costs.... Everything is on the chopping block.
And this article points to the next trend: Enviro-Restructuring. That is, businesses looking for ways to make their business more harmonious with nature so as to save money with the ultimate aim of becoming more competitive.
In Google's case, they've come to the not-hard-to-understand conclusion that their data centers eat up an enormous amounts of energy. Energy that impacts their expenses and competitive position vis-a-vis rivals.
Solution? Locate the data centers somewhere cold. Where the ambient temperature helps cool the servers.
When you think about it, it's so perfectly logical one almost wonders why it hasn't been done already. Why? Because in the West, since the Industrial Revolution and the advent of Germ Theory and vaccines, we have tended to ignore nature.
There has been a lot of arrogance. A real attempt to defy and live beyond the laws of nature. What has followed in its path is a destruction and degradation of the planet. And of course, the reaction to that - Environmental Extremism.
But I see a reversal. A tacit, quiet admission. Tentative. But unmistakable. Business is realising that while it has never been cost effective - now the competitive pressures are laying bare costs that were formerly hidden or ignored.
Internet companies are truly on the leading edge of so MANY trends that are reshaping our world, but look to see more and more companies around the world following Google's lead.
First it will be internet and other technology companies. But within a year or two it should start to broaden to other industries.
Here's the takeaway: Is your company ready when this wave hits? Or will you be left behind?
Watch the wave...
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