With data centres being the world’s second-largest source of greenhouse gases, Oakland, a leading expert in data-driven business transformation, have shared a 4 step process that businesses and data teams can use to adopt a more sustainable approach.
As the world becomes increasingly digitised, the environmental impact of data management practices has come under scrutiny. According to recent studies, data centres contribute approximately 2.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing even the aviation industry (2%).
In response to this environmental challenge, Oakland’s approach combined with their experience aims to revolutionise how organisations manage their digital data, reducing their carbon footprint and driving change for a sustainable future.
4 Steps To A Sustainable Solution
There has been an obsession with FinOps in the past five years – primarily focusing on cloud efficiency. However, as indicated by the statistics, this approach may not always yield the desired results.
Oakland is adopting the emerging practice, named GreenOps, which offers a comprehensive framework for organisations to optimise their data operations with sustainability front of mind.
The method encompasses four key stages:
- Display
The first step involves understanding the current state of data operations, including assessing the environmental impact that your cloud is having alongside factors your cloud reporting may not cover.
- Diagnose
Once the baseline assessment is complete, the next step is to diagnose key areas of inefficiency. One of the critical things from a cloud perspective could be where you do the majority of your computing, on-premises you want to look at utilisation rates and the potential for consolidation to provide short-term wins.
- Decide
Armed with insights from the diagnosis phase, organisations can make informed decisions about optimising their data operations for cost and carbon savings. Short-term actions may involve consolidation or scheduling adjustments. For a long-term sustainable vision, consider on-premises data migration to the cloud, creating a strategic plan aligned with your business and data goals.
- Deliver
Migrate, consolidate, and even delete! The final step is to deliver on the plan by implementing changes to optimise data operations and reduce environmental impact. Oakland works closely with organisations to execute their sustainability initiatives, ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing support.
Luke Sharma, Senior Data Consultant at Oakland, shares his thoughts,
“Oakland have always been big believers that building a positive, sustainable future is on us. That’s why we’re committed to changing our global economy in ways that benefit people, communities, and our planet.
We seek to help clients assess their current data estates and find ways to optimise what they already have….or create new capabilities if there’s nothing there. We do this through multiple lenses – business outcomes, financial as well as carbon impact.
Whilst cost has always been a critical driver in these conversations, the environmental impact of those choices is now rising up the agenda. We ensure that we view this as critically as we do with the financial lens in our approach to GreenOps. This ensures that we can get the right result for them.”