Computing demands and data volumes continue to soar, resulting in sprawl and rising energy consumption. Some claim data centers account for 4% of the total greenhouse emissions worldwide, and most predict levels will only rise over time. The more electricity that’s consumed, the more CO2 is emitted from power plants. It’s a nasty cycle that runs counter to global efforts to keep emissions down and prevent climate disaster. 

The purveyors and suppliers of tech have a critical role to play in the area of energy consumption, says Russell Skingsley, CTO and global vice president of technical sales at Hitachi Vantara, in his blog. 

For too long, organizations have invested in digital horsepower to satisfy increasingly compute-intensive apps with little regard for the needed energy or its environmental impact. They’ve also expanded the floor space of facilities, which further stresses energy for cooling, heating, lighting, and water.

What’s needed is balance between the digital and natural worlds, creating data center operations that serve the business needs sustainably. Not only is balance possible, it’s preferable. Tom Christensen, global technology advisor and executive analyst at Hitachi Vantara, wrote last year, decarbonizing the data center can improve system performance and generate less emissions, all while lowering costs. 

Enter the Eco-Friendly Data Center

No longer just a trend, sustainability is now a hot topic at company board meetings and, as such, should be a driver for responsible IT infrastructure. Hitachi Vantara believes in the eco-friendly data center, one that provides an opportunity for higher performance, lower emissions and cost savings. 

• Hitachi Vantara storage systems include patented technology that helps reduce power consumption by 30%-40% from model to model, without compromising performance. 
• Hitachi Vantara lowers Green House Gas emissions across the entire lifecycle of its systems–from procurement of materials to production, transport, use, disposal and recycling. 
• Hitachi Vantara all-flash storage arrays enable customers to consolidate legacy disk systems freeing up floor space, dramatically lowering power consumption and costs, and reducing CO2 emissions.

Sustainability at the Core

Balance is good. It enables agility and establishes equilibrium for improved performance and quick reaction times. That’s why Hitachi Vantara is working hard to help customers assess and address their opportunities with smarter, eco-friendly infrastructure. The company takes a holistic approach to de-carbonization that brings IT and OT together with sustainable IT solutions around storage, edge, software and OT, as well as energy management and fleet management solutions.

And its concerted efforts and commitment are gaining industry recognition:

• In Gartner’s recent overall rating of “Positive” for Hitachi
• By the Everest Group, which ranked Hitachi Vantara a “Major Contender” in its inaugural Sustainability Enablement Technology Services PEAK Matrix® 2022

“It’s time to bring balance to the data center, for the good of your business and the planet,” concludes Skingsley.