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Tag: Carbon Footprint

  • AWS Weekly Roundup: Updates and Insights (October 27, 2025)

    AWS Weekly Roundup: Updates and Insights (October 27, 2025)

    AWS Weekly Roundup: October 27, 2025

    Each week, Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides updates on its services, new features, and any significant events impacting its users. This week’s roundup, as of October 27, 2025, covers a range of developments, from new product launches to service disruptions.

    Service Disruptions and Resolutions

    On Monday, October 27, 2025, users in the North Virginia (us-east-1) Region experienced service disruptions. What caused this? The primary issue was a DNS configuration problem, which affected several services, including DynamoDB. Who was impacted? Numerous customers relying on these services. How was it resolved? AWS addressed the issue and provided a detailed summary of the incident.

    The resolution of this issue underscores the importance of resilient infrastructure and the need for prompt responses to service disruptions. AWS has since provided a full account of the incident, detailing the root cause and the steps taken to prevent future occurrences. The promptness of the fix is a good example of AWS’s commitment to service reliability.

    New AWS Offerings and Features

    Beyond addressing service disruptions, AWS continues to innovate and introduce new services and features. This week’s announcements include:

    AWS RTB Fabric

    AWS RTB Fabric is a new service designed to enhance real-time bidding (RTB) capabilities. While specifics are not provided in the original source, it likely aims to improve efficiency and performance for advertising and marketing applications. This update highlights AWS’s commitment to the advertising technology sector.

    AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool

    In line with growing environmental concerns, AWS has introduced a Customer Carbon Footprint Tool. Why this tool? It allows customers to monitor and understand the carbon footprint associated with their AWS usage. This tool provides insights into energy consumption and helps businesses make informed decisions to reduce their environmental impact. Who benefits? Businesses aiming to improve sustainability.

    AWS Secret-West Region

    AWS continues to expand its global infrastructure. The introduction of the Secret-West Region indicates AWS’s ongoing investment in secure and isolated environments. Where is this region located? The exact location is undisclosed due to the nature of its security focus. This expansion underscores AWS’s dedication to providing robust, secure cloud computing services.

    Key Takeaways and Future Outlook

    The AWS ecosystem is continuously evolving. This week’s updates demonstrate AWS’s focus on both service reliability and innovation. The resolution of the DNS configuration issue in us-east-1 highlights the importance of operational excellence. The introduction of new tools and services, such as the Customer Carbon Footprint Tool and AWS RTB Fabric, further illustrates AWS’s commitment to meeting evolving customer needs and addressing pressing industry challenges.

    Conclusion

    The AWS weekly roundup for October 27, 2025, provides a snapshot of the dynamic nature of cloud computing. From addressing service disruptions to introducing new features, AWS continues to adapt and innovate. Keeping abreast of these updates is crucial for anyone leveraging AWS services. When considering these updates, remember that AWS is committed to providing a reliable and feature-rich cloud computing environment.

    Source: AWS News Blog

  • FinServ & Sustainable Software Engineering: A Business Imperative

    Sustainable Software Engineering: A FinServ Imperative

    The financial services industry (FinServ) is undergoing a significant shift. Sustainable software engineering (SSE) is no longer a distant ideal; it’s evolving into a critical business requirement. But what does SSE truly entail within the complex, high-stakes world of finance?

    This article explores the findings of a recent qualitative case study presented at the ESEM conference in 2025. The study, conducted, provides an in-depth look at how one FinServ company, is navigating this evolving landscape. It reveals a nuanced and often contradictory picture, shaped by the unique demands of the industry.

    The Market’s Demand for Sustainable Software

    The market is increasingly rewarding organizations that prioritize sustainability. This trend is driving FinServ companies to integrate SSE principles into their operations. While enhancing public perception is a key driver, SSE also offers the potential for improved profitability through increased efficiency and reduced operational costs.

    However, a universally accepted definition of SSE remains elusive. FinServ companies, dealing with vast amounts of data, stringent regulatory requirements, and massive transaction volumes, have a particularly unique perspective on what constitutes sustainability. This perspective often centers on:

    • Reducing energy consumption of software and hardware
    • Minimizing the carbon footprint of digital operations
    • Extending the lifespan of software systems and hardware

    Divergent Perspectives: Management vs. Developers

    The ESEM study, which included interviews with senior management and software engineers , uncovered a significant divergence in perspectives regarding SSE implementation. Management, typically focused on technical and economic sustainability, often prioritizes cloud migration and business continuity as primary goals.

    One executive emphasized this perspective: “Moving to the cloud is, in our view, a significant step towards sustainability.” This mirrors the study’s observation that, “Many banks are actively migrating their data and applications to cloud solutions to remain competitive.” These efforts aim to reduce on-premise infrastructure, consolidate resources, and improve energy efficiency through shared cloud infrastructure.

    Software engineers, however, often emphasize human-centric considerations. They connect sustainability to manageable workloads, system performance, and the overall well-being of the development team, recognizing that technical practices must support human factors. This perspective is frequently overlooked in top-down initiatives.

    Many developers expressed skepticism regarding sustainability initiatives, viewing them as primarily public relations exercises. As one developer remarked, “[It] feels like PR at the end of the day… you’re not going to advertise that you’re one of the biggest investors in drilling for oil… you’re going to say you’re investing in clean energy.”

    Key Challenges and Actionable Insights

    The research identified several significant challenges hindering SSE adoption internal knowledge gaps regarding SSE best practices, resistance to change within existing company culture, limitations imposed by legacy systems, and, currently, a limited demand signal from clients regarding SSE practices.

    The study also highlighted several actionable insights. Many participants expressed a desire for a dedicated sustainability team, mirroring existing security governance structures. This would foster cross-functional collaboration and provide dedicated resources to champion SSE initiatives. Such a team could:

    • Develop and communicate SSE strategies and metrics.
    • Provide training and awareness programs for engineers and management.
    • Identify and implement sustainable technology solutions.

    Moreover, they also highlighted the benefits of setting key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of SSE efforts. These can include metrics related to:

    • Energy consumption.
    • Carbon emissions.
    • Infrastructure utilization.
    • System performance and reliability.

    Additionally, cloud migration provides significant opportunities to improve energy efficiency, reduce the need for physical servers, and take advantage of the efficient resource allocation and scalability provided by cloud providers. Therefore, the benefits of cloud migration can be enhanced through SSE efforts, and can significantly contribute to the reduction of the company’s carbon footprint.

    Bridging the Gap for a Sustainable Future

    The key takeaway for FinServ companies , and likely many others, is that success hinges on bridging the gap between management and developer perspectives. This requires fostering open dialogue, co-designing interventions that address practical concerns, and establishing clear metrics to measure progress.

    Companies that embrace these practices will be better positioned to capitalize on the long-term benefits of SSE, including increased efficiency, enhanced reputation, and a more resilient business model. By prioritizing SSE, FinServ can contribute to a more sustainable future while achieving its business goals.