Artificial Intelligence (AI) has found its way onto the product roadmap of most companies, particularly over the past two years. Behind the scenes, this has created a parallel boom in the demand for data, and the infrastructure to store it, as we train and deploy AI models. But it has also created soaring levels of data waste, and a carbon footprint we cannot afford to ignore.
In some ways, this isn’t surprising. The environmental impact of physical waste is easy to see and understand – landfills, polluted rivers and so on. But when it comes to data, the environmental impact is only now emerging. In turn, as we embrace AI we must also embrace new approaches to manage the carbon footprint of the training data we use.
In the UK, NetApp’s research classes 41% of data as “unused or unwanted”. Poor data storage practices cost the private sector up to £3.7 billion each year. Rather than informing decisions that can help business leaders make their organisations more efficient and sustainable, this data simply takes up vast amounts of space across data centres in the UK, and worldwide.
Uncovering the hidden footprint of data storage waste
To demonstrate the scale of the issue, it is estimated that by 2026, 211 zettabytes of data will have been pumped into the global datasphere, already costing businesses up to one third of their IT budgets to store and manage. At the same time, nearly 68% of the world’s data is never accessed or used after its creation. This is not only creating unnecessary emissions, but also means businesses are using their spending budget and emissions on storage and energy consumption when they simply don’t need to. Instead, that budget could be invested more effectively in developing innovative new products or hiring the best talent.
Admittedly, this conundrum isn’t entirely new, as over 50% of IT providers acknowledge that this level of spending on data storage is unsustainable. And the sheer scale of the “data waste” problem is part of what makes it so daunting, as IT leaders are unsure where to begin.
Better data management for a greener planet
To tackle these problems confidently, IT teams need digital tools that can help them manage the increasing volumes of data. It is important that organisations have the right infrastructure in place for CTOs and CIOs to feel confident in their leadership roles to implement important data management practices to reduce waste. Additionally, IT leaders also need visibility of all their data to ensure they comply with evolving data regulation standards. If they don’t, they could face fines and reputational damage. After all, who can trust a business if they can’t locate, retrieve, or validate data they hold – especially if it is their customer’s data?
This is why intelligent data management is a crucial starting point. Businesses on average are spending £213,000 per year in maintaining their data through storage. This number will likely rise considerably as businesses collect more and more data for operational, employee and customer analytics. So by developing a strategy and a framework to manage visibility, storage, and the retention of data, businesses can begin chipping away at the data waste issue before it becomes even more unwieldy.
From there, organisations can implement processes to classify data, and remove duplications. At the same time, conducting regular audits can ensure that departments are adhering to the framework in place. And as a result, businesses will be able to operate more efficiently, profitably, and sustainably.
- Infrastructure & Cloud
- Sustainability Technology
