FEATURE
James Petter , International VP , Pure Storage
on staff . Collaborative effort is needed to make a sustainable future a reality . on Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 ’ s ‘ key tenet ’ of , you guessed it , sustainability . Qatar ’ s Lusail Smart City follows suit , following sustainability requirements laid down in Qatar ’ s National Vision 2030 .
The impact of digital and the role of the technology sector
Such industry and government initiatives can make a big impact in helping organisations , particularly those in the early stages of transition , overcome the challenges of making the shift towards sustainability . With support to build relevant capabilities and address the challenges of aligning sustainability goals with business strategy and objectives , businesses will be better positioned to make full use of emerging technologies to remain globally competitive and contribute to our collective green targets .
Government initiatives are vital , as very few regional enterprises have sustainability experts
Technology decision makers must also play their part . From the software architect to the CIO , digitisation must be understood and analysed within the confines of sustainability . Systems and strategies must reflect national carbon-reduction goals . As an example , we have long known that server farms and their attendant cooling requirements represent a clear and present danger to climate saving efforts . Whether it be by stateof-the art cabling or flash storage , the technology companies that operate these facilities will have to get creative – and soon – to deliver uncompromised performance in a sustainable fashion .
AWS , Microsoft and Oracle , all of which have established cloud data centre locations in the GCC , have committed themselves on paper to sustainability , and that is admirable . But all technologists bear responsibility for their own solutions . As 5G emerges as the technology of the day , we must ensure that the new use cases that emanate from it comply with sustainability culture , as do the storage , compute and networking infrastructures that underpin these solutions .
The best answer to the climate crisis now is that sustainability evolves from being an aspiration to a necessity , much like the way digitalisation has permeated and changed the way we work and function . When faced with a choice , enterprises should actively choose sustainability as an immediate priority – not only because it ’ s fast becoming a strong competitive advantage , but because it ’ s the right choice to make for the sake of our planet ’ s health . x www . intelligentcxo . com
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