Creating Sustainable IT Innovations Is Key to Driving Business Growth

For businesses looking to deliver success in today's environment, prioritising sustainable innovation as a driver of business growth is crucial. It's what customers expect and need from their partners.

In fact, according to Dell Technologies 2023 Innovation Index study, UK organisations are facing mounting pressure to be sustainable from several perspectives: from customers who are more exacting of whom they invest with, from suppliers who are becoming increasingly more accountable for their ethical practices; and businesses, as they continue to strive for ways to use less energy and save money.

We're seeing technology-driven sustainability innovations ripple across the market off the back of these three drivers. UK businesses are shifting from taking tick-box sustainability measures to sustainability-driven innovations, with 28% saying they're accelerating their innovation efforts in response to the climate change crisis. We're now seeing 44% turn to technology to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy use in the data centre, and nearly half (49%) use technology to provide organisations services to help them recycle/retire the IT equipment used. These are great strides forward, but continued momentum is paramount, with the climate emergency an ever-present threat.

Thankfully, part of the answer to helping achieve this lies in new technologies and their potential. By harnessing the power of IT, organisations can drive greater innovation and create a positive impact on the planet to help tackle the climate crisis.

Why investing in sustainability can drive success?

As a business, the journey towards achieving better sustainability credentials begins in IT planning and procurement – a sentiment echoed by executives worldwide. Sustainable IT, the bedrock of organisations' long-term transformative success, focuses on using new innovative technologies like high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to enhance operational efficiency and the long-term goal and impact of reducing carbon footprint.

At the centre of sustainable IT is the infrastructure itself – it's imperative that organisations, and the vendors they collaborate with, focus their priorities on continually improving infrastructure to reduce energy consumption and increase operational and sustainable gains. An example of this kind of innovation in practice is smart cooling – Air Cooling, Direct Liquid Cooling – (DLC) and Immersion Cooling, which uses state-of-the-art thermal and mechanical simulation tools to ensure optimal cooling and sustained system performance, as well as the highest efficiency and lowest power utilisation effectiveness (PUE).

Organisations must take care when deploying new solutions to ensure they introduce them sustainably, energy-efficiently, and cost-effectively. Dell Technologies and University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland work to support the university's IT transformation plan while increasing the overall energy efficiency of its IT infrastructure. Updating to Dell PowerEdge servers has reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions by 68% year-on-year while reducing power usage by 53% and requiring 39% less cooling.

The logic behind every enhancement is simple: sustainability must be embedded into every technology as part and parcel of everything created. This means choosing the right partner to help identify and align towards your business's sustainability goals from the outset.

Strategic Procurement: Unlocking Sustainability through Flexible Models

The way a product is made is important, but so is the approach a business takes when putting that device to use. Your procurement process has a far-reaching impact. As such, when considering IT and product selections, it's essential to consider the following:

1. Product materials: Are the products manufactured from renewable, sustainably sourced or recycled materials? Can they be easily reused or recycled when decommissioned?

2. Product packaging: Does the packaging minimise waste?

3. Product performance: Are the products designed for maximum energy efficiency?

4. Product repairability/reusability: Can products be easily fixed without compromising performance or productivity? Are parts readily accessible and replaceable?

5. Productivity: Do the products enable increased productivity, thereby reducing power consumption?

Driving Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Advancements

As our technology and device consumption increases, so does the mountain of electronic waste (e-waste). The amount of e-waste the UK generated in 2022 was 23.9kg per capita, making it the world's second-largest producer of e-waste, following Norway. To reduce e-waste, Dell Technologies aims to help spearhead advances to reduce the carbon footprint of all products and make them more sustainable by significantly increasing the use of renewable and recycled materials. For example, Concept Luna is Dell Technologies' exploration of revolutionary design ideas to make components immediately accessible, replaceable, and reusable—reducing resource use and keeping even more circular materials in the economy.

In summary, there is a direct correlation between innovation, the benefits an organisation can achieve, and sustainability. Sustainability is a change driver, creating win-win situations for the planet and business. When organisations prioritise sustainability, they uncover new ways of working that will lead to greater efficiencies and cost savings, freeing up resources to pursue new opportunities for innovation.