According to the International Energy Agency , data centers and data transmission networks are responsible for nearly 1 % of energy related GHG emissions , so it ’ s hardly surprising that perceived excess energy demands are placing an increased focus on the sustainability of data center operations .

If organizations are serious about public net zero commitments , it ’ s essential that every aspect of their operations are considered . With data centers already acknowledged as a major consumer of energy , it ’ s clearly smart to consider their future development from a sustainability perspective . Many cities around the world are considering the imposition of a temporary or permanent moratorium on the development of new data centers , while some countries already face a considerable challenge due to the power consumption of existing data centers .

What ’ s the answer ? First , it ’ s important to consider the context of data center power use . While the industry promotes the efficiency of its latest hyperscale operations , the reality is that many data centers are already over 20-years-old and were designed and built for a very different IT landscape .

to optimize performance and secure environmental improvements – particularly given that cooling data centers can account for up to 40 % of their total energy consumption . Using our 3D visualization and analytics platform , teams can visualize airflow management improvements , manage complex capacity decisions , and quickly highlight any worrying trends in cooling performance .

Effective data center optimization helps release this expensive cooling capacity , helping data centers to handle increased workloads and protect against unnecessary spending on additional cooling . Using this approach , we ’ ve been able to reduce data center cooling costs by up to 20 % – in turn helping to unlock immediate carbon savings that can contribute directly to corporate net zero programs . It ’ s an important start !

Many operations have worked hard to limit their growing energy demand , indeed while data center workloads grew by around 260 % in the six years to 2021 , data center energy use only grew by up to 60 %. Despite this considerable focus on efficiency , data centers will come under continual pressure , especially given that – as consumers – we show no sign of kicking our data habit . Video , for example , now accounts for over half of global data traffic thanks to our growing preference for hi-res viewing .

So , if consumers aren ’ t prepared to ease up on their data use , what steps can data centers take to reduce their energy use . At EkkoSense we believe that addressing data center cooling efficiency needs to be a key area of focus . It ’ s one of the most effective ways

34 INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA www . intelligentcio . com

Intelligent CIO North America Issue 35 | Page 34