Jeremy Isaacs, Head of IT Infrastructure Sales Specialist Practice at Ricoh UK, sheds light on why organisations need to direct their budgets towards efficient and sustainable cloud and IT infrastructure, and the benefits this has on cutting overall costs, reducing carbon footprint, and delivering specific return on investments.
With soaring energy costs placing increasing financial strain on businesses across the UK and a growing number of organisations being pushed into administration, important questions are being posed to business leaders on where to effectively invest to secure long-term success while balancing sustainability goals.
Like most elements of doing business, inefficiencies are a key factor in success and failure. When it comes to sustainability goals the ramifications of poorly maintained or out-of-date infrastructure are felt not only in the bottom-line financial statements but also environmentally.
IT leaders investing in efficient and modern IT infrastructure, such as efficient cloud technologies, can reduce energy consumption and promote long-term cost savings and, in turn, contribute to growth.
The problem with data centres
Governments, businesses, and individuals alike are increasingly aware of the detrimental effects of carbon emissions and, as a result, stricter environmental guidelines and regulations are being implemented.
This increasing pressure on organisations to become more socially and environmentally responsible can be seen across the board. In 2021, The Cabinet Office announced that all companies bidding for government contracts over £5 million must commit to being carbon neutral by 2050 – the rules of engagement are changing.
With increased pressure to reduce carbon emissions, organisations will be forced to address their biggest emitters and for many, this can be data centres.
The latest figures suggest that 25% of non-industrial companies’ carbon footprint are a direct result of data centre consumption. Estimates, from Ricoh partner NetApp, suggest that 68% of data stored is never used again after it is created, eats up tremendous floor space and costs significant amount of money to maintain. A mid-size organisation can, in some instances, expect to shell out an additional £1million over the next 5 years to fund the rise in their data centre energy bills.
The issue for organisations
Rising energy costs, the need to comply with regulations, the aspirations to make positive contributions both socially and environmentally and the need to stay culturally relevant to their customers – boil down to a simple fact: Being good is good for business.
In 2023, 60% of European organisations are set to prioritise digital investments to help reach sustainability-related goals. Whether on-premises or in the cloud, the data centre is a large consumer of power and carries with it cost and carbon implications.
For continued longevity and growth, it is essential that organisations re-design their infrastructure with sustainability high on the agenda and consider how migrating to modern solutions carries a double benefit: reducing your carbon footprint and your energy bills.
Transforming existing infrastructure and identifying the right cloud solutions can begin with a 4-step approach.
- Evaluate current infrastructure by measuring power usage and carbon footprint
- Once identified, optimise current resources
- Transform systems
- Repurpose assets, where suitable
As a result, this will reduce power, maximise performance and, in turn, drive a return on investment in 12 months.
Increased use of devices and data
Whilst shrinking the size of your IT may seem like a ‘quick fix’ to reducing energy use, this isn’t really practical in the growing digital landscape.
The number of electronic devices used by organisations is escalating, and to accommodate this increase, businesses need to invest in sustainable cloud and infrastructure strategies that boost capacity whilst minimising increased energy consumption.
If an organisation’s IT infrastructure cannot keep up with the rising use of devices and data, they risk system crashes and losing access to data which could be detrimental across the wider business objectives.
Cloud in a hybrid world
Transforming existing infrastructure also has numerous benefits for hybrid working, as organisations can use and handle data outside of office networks.
Rather than investing in additional office server space, hardware and other resources needed for office work, cost efficiencies can be gained by investing in streamlined cloud and infrastructure strategies that enable successful and collaborative remote and hybrid working.
Cloud storage also offers unlimited scalability, as storage capacity can be increased or decreased based on requirements, without the need for investing in additional hardware or infrastructure, which incurs additional costs and carbon outputs.
As we look to the future, the maths is simple – investment in efficient cloud technologies rather than data centres reduces costs and minimises impact on the environment. Long-term business success and sustainability will become a symbiotic relationship – one will not be possible without the other.
