Search engines help businesses gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, data presented in Chapter 6 of the course textbook provides “food for thought” regarding the utilization of such technology. Google’s ® data centers, with “over 1 million” servers worldwide, are described as having “used 38,000 megawatts of electricity in 2012” (Turban, Volonino, & Wood, 2015, p.190). The amount of electricity utilized by data centers worldwide continues to grow at a fast rate, and the environmental impact is a growing concern (Turban et al., 2015, p.190).

Question:

Regarding the tremendous growth of data centers and their footprint on the earth’s environment, provide support for or argue against their increased deployment by enterprises.

Remember, one goal in the Discussion assignments is to create an atmosphere of interaction by posting meaningful responses that advance and expand the depth of the discussion. Do this by providing additional support to your peers’ initial and response posts, or if appropriate, by challenging them if you feel that the data that they presented is weak. Likewise, when a peer challenges the data in your posts, debate the issue, and providing further support for your points of view on the topic.