Rowland Kinch, CEO, Custodian Data Centres, discusses how data centre managers can meet the needs of their clients without compromising their environmental credentials.
Managing a thriving data centre requires a multitude of skills. Today, this means having a keen sense of sustainability, ESG and the overall impact of their services on the environment.
The expansion of data-centric technologies such as 5G, AI, IoT and the expanding entertainment streaming services will all need data centres to support these initiatives.
What is clear, however, is that the customers of data centres also demand that the services they buy are environmentally responsible from companies that place sustainable management at the core of their enterprises and the services they offer. Data centre management is transforming into a holistic approach that considers many components from energy to the circular economy that result in sustainable services which their clients need to operate their enterprises.
For data centre managers, sustainability also has a vital cultural aspect. Operating a data centre with strong environmental credentials requires management and the full data centre staff to work together. Instilling a sense of environmental protection in every action and customer-facing relationship is how data centres will remain sustainable and profitable over the long term.
Clients want to see practical steps before partnering with a data centre. From illustrating how high recycling levels are endemic to the broader infrastructure of the data centre’s location, or the allocation of EV charging points – all these actions and initiatives form the new mindset that data managers must nurture.
Often the green option is not the most cost-effective for a business considering their data centre services. However, the most successful data centre managers appreciate this critical aspect of their clients’ buying decisions but place what could be higher cost – yet becoming more environmentally conscious – services into a comprehensive and longer-term initiative, which clients appreciate.
Building partnerships
Business leaders can see the value of environmental initiatives such as the drive to net zero and the CNDCP (Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact) and are looking for data centre partners that also support these and other environmental programmes. Data centre managers must focus on how these initiatives can manifest across their operations, as their clients will need to see practical actions taking place.
To illustrate a solid environmental commitment, metrics can measure a data centre’s performance. Research from IBM IBV demonstrates the importance of measurement: ‘54% of businesses in the survey use recognised frameworks, standards, metrics and data, and 52% have current initiatives to measure contributions and progress toward sustainability goals’. In this context, data centre managers must support and integrate their metrics to deliver comprehensive data to their existing and potential new clients.
As businesses transition to becoming post-pandemic companies, the supply chains they had relied upon have had to change. Data centres are part of these supply chains and have, of course, supply chains of their own that have also been impacted by COVID-19. But, again, taking a holistic approach that places environmental needs and sustainability ambitions as critical transformational drives for these supply chains will ensure data centres can continue to be trusted and essential business partners.
The multi-faceted nature of sustainable business requires everyone to work together towards a common goal. Companies want to partner with service providers that share their environmental goals but have the infrastructure and mindset to help them complete their journeys.
Sustainability is a catalyst
With Persistence Market Research expecting the green data centre market to grow by over 14% by 2032, there is a clear driver here for managers to ensure they are offering the most sustainable services possible.
From the physical infrastructure and CO2 emissions to energy via renewable sources, data centre managers that can take a comprehensive and integrated approach to their sustainability initiatives and validate them with recognised metrics will become destination service providers for business leaders.
IBM made an insightful conclusion: ‘Organisations combining a strong commitment to sustainability with execution capabilities—and integrating this effort with Digital Transformation — create win-win situations that align business objectives with improved environmental outcomes’.
Business leaders understand that the data centre service they buy must meet various needs to enable their enterprises to innovate and deliver world-class services to their customers. The management of data centres has always placed the client first. Cost and the available infrastructure were vital drivers. These have been joined and surpassed by sustainability and environmental impact.
Data centre managers that push their businesses to do better within the context of strong environmental and sustainability policies will lead and differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Effective data centre management is about listening to the precise needs of each client, their challenges, concerns and how they see their businesses evolving. Data centre managers must ensure they can fulfil and even exceed these needs without compromising their environmental credentials.
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