Networked Enterprise Featured Article

In the age of Big Data, we tend to become focused on the information, capabilities and competitive advantage benefits associated with data. We put processes in place to capture information, applications to manage that information and software to help us derive value from that information, turning it into business analytics. To do all of this in the networked enterprise, we consume a lot of energy.

Enterprise leaders are placing a priority on the data center and the role it plays in their market positioning. At the same time, the bottom line is pointing to the costs associated with managing this data. The demand is only growing and sustainable designs are getting more attention. It doesn’t do the networked enterprise much good if the data center costs the company more than the value it delivers.

Consider the impact the Big Data movement is having on the market overall. According to research from the 2112 Group, data centers are consuming 10 percent of all power globally. It’s a consumption that we typically can’t see, unless you pay attention to the details. The impact data consumption and management is having on the cost of operations is considerable, and creating enough of a stir within the enterprise to look for ways of implementing sustainable strategies to save a few dollars.

According to a recent Channelnomics piece, money really is doing the talking in the data center space. While energy efficiency has been a nice buzz phrase for some time, it’s not that critical to decision makers – until it starts to impact the budget. Channel partners seeking to make an impact in the networked enterprise have to offer more than just the promise of efficiency. They have to be able to demonstrate real savings in terms of lower monthly bills.

Vendors able to have these conversations and demonstrate that their solutions really do impact the bottom line will stand apart from the competition. The approach needs to be consultative, so if only one product or solution is offered, it’s difficult to demonstrate that it really is the best fit to meet enterprise needs. Company leaders want choice and vendors need to make choice available so as to meet the need for eco-friendly.

This gives the decision maker the opportunity to brag about the company’s protection of the environment, even if the motivation really is to reduce costs. The marketing opportunities to demonstrate their “green” choice in data center development delivers added benefits and a reduction in energy consumption is good for everybody.

Efficiency standards across the industry could help as well. While we’re starting to see some of this come to fruition, there’s still a lot of work to be done. So far, the demand for data has outpaced efficiency innovation. Now that we know the demand is strong, why not make it a priority?