By shifting its IT infrastructure onto the AWS Cloud, Jour de la Terre has significantly improved its backups, resiliency, and data security. “There is no comparison between AWS and our old solution when it comes to protecting our vital data,” says Lussier. He goes on to explain that employees are also getting more done as a result of the expanded, better connected collaboration tools and centralized data repositories. “I estimate that the AWS solution has helped our staff become about 15 percent more efficient.”

The organization’s IT costs have also been reduced. “By shifting to the AWS Cloud, the cost of running our IT infrastructure has been reduced by probably 20 percent,” says Lussier. “But frankly, this is tough to quantify. One reason we needed to shift was because our previous solution made it so difficult to understand our costs.”

Costs aren’t the only aspect of its IT infrastructure that the new solution is helping Jour de la Terre better understand. “As an environmental organization that makes heavy use of IT solutions, we want the impact of our IT infrastructure to be as small as possible, and the first step is simply measuring what that impact is,” says Lussier. “Are we coding in a low-impact way? Are our servers using energy as efficiently as possible? AWS helps us answer questions about the environmental impact of our IT infrastructure that we never could have answered before.”

Lussier explains that these answers matter to Jour de la Terre not only so the organization can reduce its own impact but also so it can lead its field in what he sees as an important new direction. “Because reliance on IT solutions is only going to continue to increase, it is important we all try to understand the real-world effects of our choices in this area,” says Lussier. “We are proud to be associated with AWS not only because of its commitment to using sustainable energy, but also because its solutions provide an excellent starting point for a larger conversation about this vital environmental topic.”