Sustainability: A key focus for business operations

Veritas Technologies, a California-based company that provides data management solutions, has made sustainability a key focus of its business operations. The company believes that sustainability is critical to its long-term success and to creating a better world, and has set ambitious targets to drive progress in this area.

The latest research from Veritas comes at a very apt time for the UAE, with Cop 28 set to take place here later this year and 2023 being the Year of Sustainability. What were some of the main findings from this research?

This is indeed an exciting time for us to launch the findings of our study that focused on the impact of data-related pollution. The UAE has announced its commitment to curbing greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain, and as one of the region’s – if not the world’s – leaders in digital transformation, the impact of data storage on carbon footprint must be understood so that organisations can scale up action and support the nation’s journey towards net zero by 2050.

There are some very interesting findings from UAE survey respondents within this research. For example, our study found that there is a high level of concern amongst UAE consumers about the environmental impact of poor data management by organisations. A majority (60 percent) of respondents in the UAE said that they are concerned about environmental pollution and avoidable energy wastage caused by online data storage. The UAE ranks third highest in the world in this sentiment, next only to China (65%) and France (62%), and significantly higher than the global average of 50 percent. Furthermore, compared to just 47 percent globally, nearly two-thirds (60%) of UAE respondents said they would stop buying from a company if they knew it was wilfully causing environmental damage by not controlling how unnecessary or unwanted data is managed.

To what extent do businesses storing unnecessary data harm the environment?

Today with increased digitalisation of processes, data centres run 24x7 and are estimated to be using up as much as 8 percent of all electricity generated globally. Most of these centres are powered by fossil fuels and generate about the same amount of CO2 as the airline industry, which is why the opening of a solar-powered data centre by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority is such a welcome move. But what makes it even more significant is understanding that much of the data stored in these centres is irrelevant. Typically half of the data that enterprises store is redundant, obsolete, or trivial (ROT).

At a channel level, do you see a need to update and adapt approaches in line with the concept of sustainable data management?

There is absolutely no doubt that a channel-level data management strategy is imperative today, especially with digitisation gaining unparalleled traction. According to the International Energy Agency, 90 percent of all data today was generated over the last two years alone, and with internet traffic tripling in the past five years, we are witnessing a real data explosion.

It is, therefore, now business-critical for enterprises that handle large volumes of data to consult with data management specialists to get the best tools and advice to manage and secure their data in the most effective

The opaque understanding of where data is stored is further impacted by the adoption of a multi-cloud

What are some of the consequences of improper data management for

I would like to highlight one of the less discussed – but extremely important – consequences of improper data management, and that relates to employee efficiency, productivity, and profitability. On average, employees lose two hours a day searching for data, resulting in a 16 percent drop in workforce efficiency. Conversely, organisations that invest in the effective day-to-day management of their data have reported cost savings and better employee productivity as a

What steps can businesses take to start addressing and mitigating the environmental pollution caused by data

The first step is to implement a data management strategy that helps eliminate ROT and dark data and focus on business-critical data. As another of our studies revealed, more than half (53%) of UAE organisations do not have full visibility of their data. For enterprises handling vast volumes of data, addressing this challenge needs to be part of a full and ongoing data management and protection programme.

Enterprises handling large volumes of data can consult with data protection and management specialists to get the best tools and advice. These experts can guide them through sorting out their data with data visibility tools, setting up management policies and protocols to keep important data and destroy waste data, and the adoption of AI and machine learning software help to make this data classification and management process faster and easier to deploy. ë

Veritas is committed to giving back to the community through various charitable initiatives. The company supports organizations that work on issues such as education, health, and poverty reduction, and encourages its employees to volunteer their time and resources.Veritas’ sustainability initiatives demonstrate the company’s commitment to creating a more sustainable future, both within its operations and in the wider world.