BUSINESS STRATEGY a fifth of global electricity and produce 3.2 % of worldwide carbon emissions .
In order to slow this growth and reduce the impact on the planet , businesses should aim to reduce their data . By limiting how much data we produce , less space will be required in data centres for its storage and security . Fewer data centres will be needed , thus electricity will be saved and fewer carbon emissions will be produced .
To allow businesses to reduce their data , they must be able to ask themselves , and answer , essential questions to understand its value . For example , does this data need to be kept ? If so , how valuable is it ? How often will it be used ? Where should it be stored to allow the correct access ? How long does it need to be kept for ? How should it be discarded if it is not required ?
Being able to accurately answer these questions will allow a business to determine the status of its data and begin discarding it appropriately .
Asking these questions will allow businesses to identify what ’ s known as their ROT data . Removing Redundant , Obsolete and Trivial ( ROT ) data is an easy way for businesses to reduce their data storage . ROT data is unessential and takes up unnecessary space in data centres .
Seventy percent of a business ’ data is considered to be ROT . Its discard will not impact the business but will be of huge benefit to the planet .
Many businesses , however , struggle to determine which data is ROT . Data which is essential in some departments may be totally irrelevant to other divisions . A cross-company approach is vital in this process . Discarding one department ’ s important data could be detrimental to the business . If all departments – from HR to finance , operations to management – work together to reduce the data , significant steps can be made to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly .
Intelligent data management systems can aid in the process of data reduction and removal
of ROT data . Investing in these systems can improve a business ’ data management as it shows the data ’ s life cycle . It enables businesses to understand what data is needed and which are at the end of their life cycle and can be discarded , making the process seamless .
Call to action
As data continues to be produced at unprecedented speeds and our reliance on the Internet grows , it has never been more important to take action . The damage we are causing the planet moves closer to being irreversible every day . Yet , simple and minor changes can make such a huge difference . You wouldn ’ t keep a shirt that you outgrew two decades ago , so why keep data that is old and no longer relevant ?
Of course , data remains important and it is inevitable that businesses will continue to produce it . Change will not occur overnight and we might not see clear results for many years to come , but every business should start making the appropriate changes before it is too late .
Taking simple steps to make data storage and management more sustainable and environmentally friendly will enable businesses and the planet to flourish . x www . intelligentcxo . com
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