Greening the digital age. You might have heard this term often, and a lot in the recent days. But what does this mean?
With technology growing at the speed no one can think of, so is the emissions. The more the data transmissions are happening, the more is the impact on the environment.
To address this, businesses are now focusing on “greening the digital age”. There are tens of innovative technologies available out there. Followed by some amazing eco-friendly strategies. But which one to choose to minimise carbon footprint? Let’s understand everything in detail below!
What is the environmental impact of digital technology?
Communication, work, or daily lives of individuals, you name it, and digital technology has almost changed everything. And when it comes to the overall data infrastructure, data centres are the backbone of it. As per Slurp’it, to get into numbers, almost 2% of global electricity is consumed by these centres.
The number may look small, but let’s look at the whole picture. Even the 2% now, is going to rise to two digits.
As per Slurp’it with this growing consumption, comes the threat of global warming and climate change. In addition to this, the production and disposal of electronic devices create electronic waste. These waste often release toxic substances.
Coming to metals that are necessary for manufacturing, many are rare and hard to find. The extraction process is tricky. And this often leads to habitat destruction and pollution.
Last comes the digital divide. Urban areas consume more energy, obviously because of better technological infrastructure. Whereas rural areas remain underserved.
And this highlights the importance, in fact the need for sustainable solutions.
Why is greening network management important?
Now that we have understood the issues that come with growing networks, let’s check out the concept of greening network management.
It’s important for organisations looking forward to aiming to balance technological changes responsibly. Sustainable practices often reduce energy consumption and emissions. It helps businesses to combat climate change.
By giving more priority to eco-friendly, a business can improve their company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Beyond reputation, sustainable network management can bring in multiple financial benefits. Businesses can lower operational costs. How? They can actually check out their resource utilisation, reduce energy bills, and invest more in energy-efficient technologies.
In fact, did you know that greening network management goes beyond individual companies? There are several industries that adopt sustainable practices collectively to drive systemic change.
As per Slurp’it, it’s a collaborative effort made altogether. and this helps with combating future challenges better – like climate change or even fluctuating energy prices.
Some sustainable practices for network management you must give a try!
Now let’s get into the action part for network management. Some tips you must try now:
- Implement a straightforward approach to sustainable network management, because that’s the key to succeeding
- Next, optimising the network goes the long way. Try designing the network the way that it can reduce energy consumption.
- The above step can easily be done by assessing traffic patterns. If the business is able to deploy intelligent routing protocols, then energy consumption can be taken care of.
- Businesses can upgrade to energy-efficient hardware (routers, switches, servers).
- Conducting regular audits can be of great help. Check out equipment often for peak efficiency.
- Train employees on energy conservation and best practices. The cheat trick can be tried here is – encourage simple actions like turning off unused equipment, this can go a long way!
Get energy efficient hardware and infrastructure!
To walk long miles in the digital age, a business should definitely shift towards energy-efficient hardwares.
- New generations of servers and network devices are now designed with advanced power management features. These servers easily adjust to energy usage. The adjustment is done based on demand, so that the carbon footprint is reduced.
- For organisations, the design of physical infrastructure matters a lot. Data centres can implement hot and cold aisle containment strategies. This will help with optimising cooling systems and reducing energy consumption.
- With the help of energy-efficient cooling technologies, like liquid or free cooling, businesses can minimise the energy required. This will actually maintain the optimal operating temperatures for servers and other equipment.
- Yet another thing organisations can do is, monitor and analyse energy usage. They can try out intelligent management systems. These systems track power consumption in real time.
Switch to renewable energy sources for data centres for network management
In addition to getting energy efficient hardwares, businesses can even try out renewable energy sources. More specifically the ones who are into data centres.
They can try out solar, wind, or other renewable energy resources. This will drastically reduce the carbon footprint of the company.
For this, they can either invest in on-site renewable energy systems or can enter into power purchase agreements (PPAs). As per Slurp’it, these agreements are often provided by green energy providers.
But, why renewable energy integration?
This single step of integration helps businesses stay aligned to sustainability goals. And even the business can position itself as an organisation that is green energy first, which means it is adapting to the growing pressure for greener practices.
The future of network management lies in sustainability. If a business is able to adopt to ecofriendly practices and are readily investing in energy-efficient technologies, they can reduce their environmental impact. And along with this they can save (financially). Going green is not just a moral imperative but also a strategic necessity, so are you ready to be the changemakers? For more information contact us at Slurp’it!
