Is digital transformation really sustainable?

Although it is often claimed that digitalization contributes to improving the sustainability of the planet, at Nutanix, they see it differently. According to this multinational, the digital transformation is far from being sustainable and is contributing to the increase in CO2 emissions on our planet, which is why the commitment to implement hyper-converged infrastructures that replace traditional data centers to continue digitization and meet climate neutrality goals.

Different studies show that the digital sector (including data centers, Internet traffic and the use of smartphones, televisions and other digital devices) emits 50% more greenhouse gases than the entire aviation industry .

“Digital technology is responsible for around 6% of CO2 emissions from industrial processes. Although it may not seem like it to us, a video call, a download on the console or access to any of the streaming platforms to watch our favorite series or movie, require a large energy consumption and cause industrial emissions associated with production and manufacturing. initialization of all our digital devices and systems”, affirms Jorge Vázquez, general director of Nutanix in Spain and Portugal.

According to Nutanix, the digital transformation is far from sustainable and is contributing to the increase in CO2 emissions

The improvement in the performance of smartphones has not only generated an increase in their economic cost, but also an increase in the energy consumption necessary for their manufacture. Due to current “inflationary spending habits”, digital devices are being purchased more and more frequently and this is adding to the problem.

Additionally, data centers account for about 20% of indirect emissions from most organizations. These are greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat or cooling, which are physically produced at the facilities. The energy needs of data centers and digital infrastructures are constantly increasing. Since 2010, the number of Internet users has doubled, Internet traffic has multiplied by 15 and storage needs by five.

Hyperconverged infrastructures

In this context of digital transformation, the commitment to innovative technologies, such as hyperconverged infrastructures (HCI), will help reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint of data centers, since they have the potential to take advantage of technological advances in different areas and reduce carbon consumption in key areas.

“We must commit to transforming traditional three-tier data centers into next-generation architectures to meet climate neutrality goals. Hyperconverged infrastructures will be key to reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint thanks to their automation capacity, their innovative cooling systems and the use of renewable energies”, adds Jorge Vázquez. “In addition, it must be taken into account, for example, thathe overall reduction in hardware components means the elimination of an entire SAN network, which will have an immediate, positive impact on reducing emissions.”