8 ways to make your software more energy-efficient

By David Bicknell

I recently came across the Software Improvement Group, a Dutch company specialising in corporate software quality, which has produced some advice on how to make your software applications more energy-efficient. 

Its ‘quick wins’ include the following:

• Reduce resolution of images and/or send them less frequently
• Run multiple applications on shared servers
• Reduce data translation between components
• Log less
• Delete historic data
• Compile interpreted languages
• Refrain from frivolous features
• Avoid chatty protocols

The group points out that quick wins do not always apply and are only a first step towards energy efficiency. To create truly energy-efficient software applications requires attention during all phases of the development lifecycle, starting from requirements and design, through coding and testing, and finally on to deployment and operation.

Users do want efficient software