How to ensure that your virtual infra­structure is sustain­able infra­structure

For IT leaders, disruption in the virtual infrastructure space has dominated the headlines and boardroom discussions for most of 2024. By now, most enterprises that have made significant investments in this area are taking a very serious look at their approach. We believe this is a healthy and productive strategy, and one that has some additional benefits that may not be part of the conversation right now. 

In a previous blog, we talked at length about the efficiency that virtualized infrastructure can deliver.  Although we focused on storage efficiency, it’s important to point out that there are benefits beyond reducing storage space and faster retrieval speeds.   

For companies looking to reduce their impact on the planet, there are several important variables such as water consumption, material use and waste generation. When it comes to sustainable IT infrastructure, energy efficiency and the associated reduction in carbon emissions (or decarbonization) are critical. 

How is virtual infrastructure more sustainable? 

In the sustainability mantra of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” there’s no question why “reduce” comes first. Whether it’s paper, water, fossil fuels, electricity or data, using less is the first step to becoming more sustainable. By documenting, rationalizing and optimizing your virtual infrastructure, you can ensure that only the most important data is stored on energy-intensive media.   

Studies have estimated that each gigabyte of data stored in the cloud consumes approximately 7 kWh of electricity and accounts for around 0.3 kilograms of CO2, depending on how the power was generated. So, while the total carbon emissions vary based on the energy source, you have far more control over the first part of the equation, starting with simply storing less data. Additionally, how you store this data and the hardware you use contributes substantially to this equation. But if we know the key… why isn’t every company doing it? 

The short answer is because it’s hard to measure, and it’s hard to choose which data is the most essential. Making tough decisions like these requires a comprehensive and impartial evaluation, which is a specialized skill that few enterprises have in-house. 

How do you measure the sustainability of virtual infrastructure? 

A good infrastructure decarbonization assessment will take both qualitative and quantitative factors into account, providing a full picture of the IT and facilities impact, as well as the practices and policies in place. 

The qualitative side will determine your maturity in terms of how well the enterprise can measure and control its consumption in key areas such as the data center, IT infrastructure, data management and system applications. It takes into account the policies that govern its approach to sustainability, as well as the accuracy and granularity of its carbon emissions measurements. By identifying any gaps in these areas, you can concentrate your efforts and take positive action to improve environmental performance. 

The quantitative side includes an inventory of how many and what type of servers and infrastructure are in use onsite, in the data center or with cloud providers. It also considers like the time used, non-IT energy consumed (e.g., cooling) and other factors, making it possible to calculate both direct and indirect carbon emissions. Together, these two measurements enable an accurate accounting of your IT infrastructure’s carbon footprint. 

Done correctly, a quantitative assessment can enable you to track the energy consumption of all IT and non-IT equipment at a server level. This data can quickly identify hotspots of excess energy consumption, overcapacity or other types of waste or overuse. Once these problem areas are identified, you can replace wasteful hardware such as spinning hard disks with more efficient solid-state drives, consolidate data storage, and eliminate unnecessary redundancies.  

A detailed infrastructure inventory enables you to go one step further, quantifying not just the carbon emitted from your day-to-day operations (also known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions), but the upstream and downstream (Scope 3) emissions from the manufacturing and disposal of hardware and IT equipment. 

At Atos, we work with partners to maintain an extensive database of the carbon footprint for thousands of pieces of hardware — everything from servers to laptops, monitors, cabling, switches and beyond. With this information, it’s possible to accurately quantify the amount of carbon generated not just by operating your offices and data centers, but by building out the IT infrastructure that connects and makes them run. 

Why create sustainable virtual infrastructure? 

Many enterprises love to talk about sustainability, but few are really backing it up with action. Instead, they perform sustainability-related studies to demonstrate that they are doing something. The sad truth is that many companies won’t take action unless they are forced to by regulators, shareholders or consumers. There’s a view that moving towards greater sustainability comes at an extra cost — one whose benefits are difficult to quantify.