By Simon Ninan, Senior Vice President, Business Strategy, Hitachi Vantara
Data centers are the backbone of digital infrastructure and operations worldwide. Yet, their critical role also brings significant practical and environmental challenges. The good news is that the world is waking up to these challenges, and businesses—individually and together—are beginning to plan for how to overcome them.
Accounting for 3% of the world’s energy consumption1 and about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions2, the environmental impact of data centers surpasses even that of the aviation industry3. It gets worse, these figures are expected to triple by 20304. Digging deeper, the driving force behind this surge becomes apparent: energy-intensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and their explosive growth.
Today, a single ChatGPT query consumes 10 times the energy of a typical Google search5. When you consider just one day of queries, ChatGPT’s operations consume enough energy to power 33,000 U.S. homes6. The grid, as it currently exists, is unlikely to be able to handle the massive and potentially unpredictable energy demands of data centers in the AI area. These statistics reinforce the need to rethink how data centers are built and operated, transforming them into hubs of both sustainability and innovation.
While AI has increased the energy demands of data centers, it also plays a major role in the potential solution to the challenges raised.
AI’s true power lies in its ability to analyze vast amounts of data, streamline operations, and boost efficiency through optimized decision-making and automation. When it comes to sustainability, AI plays a crucial role by optimizing energy use, intelligently managing data, and uncovering hidden inefficiencies. An example of this is AI-driven tools that help companies identify and address “dark data”—unused data sitting in storage siloes. By eliminating this waste and optimizing how data is stored and moved, businesses can reduce energy usage.
AI also fosters efficiency through technologies like green coding. This optimizes software algorithms to make them less resource-intensive and ensures processes run as efficiently as possible. Linking AI-powered energy management systems with core data center technologies can also reduce unnecessary energy consumption by shifting operations into eco-mode during low-demand periods.
AI has the potential to also unlock new innovations. By fast-tracking R&D cycles, including running highly complex simulations in a fraction of the time it previously took, we are likely to see new ideas being realized with higher frequency—including ideas for how to make data centers more sustainable.
When used responsibly, AI boosts operational performance and reduces its environmental footprint, helping create a more sustainable future.
Bringing the vision of "data centers of the future" to life requires integrating technologies like smart grids, renewable energy sources, advanced cooling systems, and smart technologies in the rack.
The vision of a fully autonomous, “self-driving” AI-driven data center can revolutionize data center management. For instance, by harnessing real-time insights from Digital Twins and AI-powered automation, routine tasks such as load balancing, energy optimization, and fault prediction could be handled autonomously, minimizing human intervention and reducing errors.
Combining Digital Twins with advanced Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) is not just a groundbreaking innovation but one that also drives significant market differentiation. AI-powered data management and predictive analytics, together with Digital Twins, can optimize the movement of data while anticipating fluctuations in data center loads, enabling proactive adjustments to prevent overloads and inefficiencies. Predictive maintenance can reduce unplanned downtime and equipment failure, further reducing operational costs. Digital Twins simulate the real-time behavior of physical assets, while DCIM provides a holistic view of the infrastructure and the relationships between all operational aspects of the data center. When integrated with AI, this system can forecast power usage, cooling demands, and resource utilization, leading to greater operational efficiency.
Innovation can occur at multiple levels. Think of it as expanding concentric circles: the innermost circle represents the rack, the next circle includes its integration with other data center components, and the outermost circle extends to integration with the broader community.
Recent advances in rack design, for example—optimizing the volumes of data and how data is stored, as well as the movement of data and how it is processed, offer significant advantages in terms of energy efficiency. Every transaction that processes data uses power and generates heat. The more organizations can streamline these transactions and the real estate of data, the greater the benefits in terms of energy efficiency and reduced data center power consumption.
Similarly, greater integration between the rack, power systems, and cooling infrastructure represents the next level of innovation—integrated systems that use data and intelligence to interconnect and optimize across boundaries. This second tier of innovation allows for new types of advancements, such as smart grids and smart cooling solutions. The future of these innovations lies not only in new technologies but in smarter systems that seamlessly connect with other elements in the data center. Once you get to the outermost ring within this set of concentric circles, we’re beginning to talk about integration with the broader community. This is where smart grids can help redistribute power beyond the data center and into the community itself. Conceivably, these smart grids will enable data centers to function as energy hubs, powering operations while redistributing surplus energy to surrounding communities. A 15-megawatt data center, for instance, could supply electricity to 15,000 homes during periods of low demand7. This integration fosters a symbiotic relationship between data centers and local communities, transforming energy-intensive facilities into key contributors to community resilience.
By adopting these intelligent systems, data centers can significantly reduce their energy demands without compromising performance, paving the way for a more sustainable digital future.
There will be significant regional and national differences in how sustainability is regulated and supported by business environments. Companies operating across borders must be aware of these disparities, adapt quickly, and take a global approach while tailoring their actions to the specific markets they serve.
For example, the EU has been a leader in driving sustainability regulations, with several impactful measures either in place or pending. In contrast, recent shifts in the U.S. political landscape suggest that sustainability initiatives may face an uncertain future based on changing priorities and shifts in investments and government programs and policies. This creates a complex dynamic for global companies striving to strike the right balance.
The key takeaway is that no company can afford to deprioritize sustainability. First, regulations—especially those from the EU—often require a global response, implying that any engagement with EU markets must be executed with a comprehensive plan and a robust global approach to achieve regulatory compliance. Secondly, more businesses have come to terms with the idea that sustainability is not just a regulatory issue; it’s a global crisis that demands immediate action.
Thirdly, and very importantly, many companies are beginning to recognize the connection between sustainability and business competitiveness—a key idea that was overlooked in the past. Too often, sustainability is seen as a regulatory burden rather than a strategic opportunity. The reality is that sustainable practices can have a tangible benefit to the bottom line by cutting costs—energy savings, for example, translate directly into financial gains. Not just that, but when sustainability is high on the corporate agenda and embedded within a company’s offerings, it can drive top-line growth by creating a unique value proposition that differentiates the company and gives customers a compelling reason to choose their products or services. A strong sustainability strategy can boost revenue and strengthen market positioning.
Over time, Sustainability enhances long-term resilience and business longevity. A Sustainable business is an enduring one. In short, sustainability isn’t just good for the planet; it’s good for business.
At the heart of Hitachi’s strategy is co-creation—a collaborative approach that brings together clients, partners, and internal divisions to drive innovation. By leveraging expertise from its diverse business units, such as Hitachi Vantara, for data infrastructure, Hitachi Energy for power solutions and GlobalLogic for software-driven innovations in data center management, Hitachi delivers comprehensive solutions to address the complex challenges of sustainability.
A standout example of this approach is a recent project where Hitachi Vantara helped a client realize their vision of the “data center of the future.” By integrating expertise in smart grids, advanced data systems, and green coding, Hitachi Vantara developed a sustainable infrastructure blueprint. This design incorporated renewable energy, AI-driven resource optimization, and dynamic carbon reduction algorithms, demonstrating how co-creation can produce scalable, transformative results.
Hitachi’s philosophy of co-creation extends beyond internal collaboration to external partnerships, aligning tailored solutions with global sustainability goals. A standout example is Hitachi’s Virtual Storage Platform, which uses advanced data compression and dynamic resource allocation to deliver high-performance storage with minimal energy consumption.
Gijima, a South African information and communications technology provider, partnered with Hitachi to modernize its infrastructure and meet ambitious sustainability goals. The results were remarkable: by replacing traditional spinning disk storage with energy-efficient all-flash arrays, Gijima reduced its data center footprint by 66%. This upgrade also reduced their power consumption and cooling needs.
The environmental challenges posed by data centers are undeniable, but so is the potential for innovation to redefine their role in a sustainable future. Building a digital infrastructure that aligns business goals with sustainability is now within reach. By leveraging advanced AI, renewable energy integration, and intelligent design, the industry can transform data centers into models of efficiency and environmental stewardship.
As the world grapples with no shortage of environmental challenges, the blueprint for success is clear: integrate, innovate, and collaborate. Responsible, sustainable strategies are good for the planet and good for business. Through these efforts, data centers can fulfill their critical role in the digital economy while safeguarding the planet for future generations.
Click here to learn more about Hitachi Vantara’s Data Center Sustainability Solutions.
Senior Vice President, Business Strategy, Hitachi Vantara
Simon Ninan is Senior Vice President of Business Strategy for Hitachi Vantara, a market leader in mission-critical storage and data infrastructure and the cornerstone of Hitachi’s global technology and data strategy. In his role, Simon is responsible for developing and driving aligned execution of Hitachi Vantara’s short- and long-term business strategy, maximizing customer and stakeholder value while promoting growth, innovation, and market leadership. The core pillars of this strategy include hybrid cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data management, and sustainability.
Simon is also a senior leader within the Corporate Strategy Office for Hitachi Ltd., the parent company of Hitachi Vantara. In this capacity, he leads advisory for the North American region, focusing on cross-business synergies and capitalizing on regional trends and opportunities.
Before Hitachi, Simon spent over a decade as a strategy consultant with Monitor Deloitte, including a stint as COO of its India practice. As an advisor to senior client executives across startups and Fortune 500 companies, he led several large-scale business and technology transformation programs across the telecommunications and hi-tech world, spanning new business standups, new product and service launches, growth and scale programs, and business model transformations.
Simon holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Information Science and an MBA in Strategy and International Business. He resides with his wife and pre-teen son in the bustling Silicon Valley area.
Search
U.S.A.
