In recent years, sustainable data center operations and low-power usage effectiveness (PUE) have become essential organizational strategies due to changing customer expectations and the need to reduce the environmental impact of data gravity.
Data gravity has environmental implications as it can increase power consumption, leading to increased emissions of greenhouse gases. To counter this, organizations need to deploy efficient methods of data storage and transfer that are both sustainable and cost-effective.
What exactly is data gravity? And what it does it mean for businesses from an operational perspective? If you find yourself asking either of those two questions, you’ve come to the right place.
Data Gravity Explained
The entire concept of data gravity is this: data attracts more data. In other words, the larger the amount of data which exists, the harder it is for data to move away from it.
Think about it in practical terms. If an organization deals in massive amounts of data, then it would take additional resources to move all of that data to another platform, which could lead to higher costs and slower performance. That organization would be better served utilizing applications and other services to access the data as opposed to constantly moving it around. Data attracts more data.
This principle applies in the physical world as well. In the physical world, it's easy to move a small object, but it's much more difficult to move a larger object.
In the digital world, the same concept applies to data. The more data an organization has, the more difficult it is to move it to another platform or service. This snowball effect of data growth leads to higher power demands which have real world environmental impacts.
Organizations must consider not only their current needs but also anticipate future capacity requirements when deciding where to store their data. On an operational level, this can have implications for costs related to bandwidth and storage as well as latency issues due to the physical distance between sites.
It is important for companies to consider how they can efficiently store and access their data while maintaining cost-effectiveness in order to maximize value and efficiency.
Sustainability Best Practices
Data gravity is increasing globally by 144% through 2024, particularly in countries such as Germany, France and UK which are financial services hubs. Forward thinking companies are currently decentralizing their data management closer to customers for improved performance & latency while taking advantage of local operators’ investments in sustainability initiatives.
Decentralizing data allows companies to keep control of their data even when it is stored or accessed remotely, reducing the risk of being hacked or compromised. Additionally, by distributing data across multiple nodes instead of relying on centralized servers, it can make it easier to ensure failover protection and improved reliability in case of a disaster. Decentralizing data networks can also reduce costs associated with hardware and maintenance, allowing businesses to spend more resources on other areas.
When it comes to data center sustainability, low-power usage effectiveness (PUE) is the name of the game. PUE is a measurement of how efficiently a data center uses energy, and a low PUE rating indicates that the facility is using energy efficiently. To achieve a low PUE rating, data center operators are constantly evaluating how to reduce their energy consumption.
Innovative organizations utilize energy-efficient equipment and technologies such as servers with power-saving features, virtualization, and the use of renewable energy sources for backup power. They can also take advantage of new cooling technologies such as liquid cooling, raised flooring, and air economization. Additionally, they can take steps to minimize their waste, such as using recycled materials and reusing parts.
Blazing a Path
The EU has established a number of initiatives and regulations to ensure that organizations are managing their data responsibly, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Single Market, and the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package. These initiatives are designed to protect citizens’ data privacy, encourage sustainable business practices, and foster innovation.
Recently, The European Union has launched a ‘green digital sector’ campaign with legislation such as the 2021 Energy Efficiency Directive, which is an Eco-design Regulation for servers and storage products that promote sustainability practices in the industry. The EU continues to serve as a guideline for organizations that are looking to strengthen their stance on sustainability best practices.
Sustainability initiatives in technology are crucial for protecting the environment and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Companies can reduce their environmental impact through implementing green technologies such as renewable energy sources, eco-friendly manufacturing processes, and by investing in technologies that enable better use of existing resources.
Additionally, organizations should strive to create efficient applications that minimize data duplication and reduce power consumption at data centers and during data transfers. These measures may help companies support a greener way of doing business while also improving performance levels.
Find the Right Partner
As data continues to grow exponentially, it's important for organizations to consider the environmental implications of data storage and transfer. Data gravity can lead to increased power consumption, which in turn leads to increased emissions of greenhouse gases.
To counter this, organizations need to deploy efficient data storage systems and data transfer procedures that are both sustainable and cost-effective. At Datacenters.com, we have a variety of servers that are designed with sustainability in mind, along with an industry leading portfolio of global solution providers dedicated to sustainable outcomes.
Our bare metal servers are available in over 25 countries including emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Western Africa, South Africa, and many more. We know what enterprise organizations need to be successful and we have the platform to deliver on that. Contact us today to learn and tell us what problem we can solve for you.
Deploy our servers today or schedule a demo with our technology experts to learn more about how our products can help your organizations green initiatives.
