Top 5 IT asset management strategies to cut down costs and your carbon footprint

Saving on costs while saving the earth may sound like the business equivalent of having your cake and eating it too; fortunately, though, it’s now our sweet reality, and leaders everywhere are recognizing it. By 2026, an astonishing 30% of organizations are projected to implement environmental sustainability programs for IT, aligning the objectives of cost optimization and waste reduction. How important is this? IT alone accounts for a staggering 1 to 2% of all global energy and carbon emissions. This presents a significant challenge, but also a tremendous opportunity.

The digitization wave sweeping the industry—encompassing transformation, automation, business intelligence, and AI—is powered by energy and carbon consumption. However, within this paradox there are immense business benefits waiting to be unlocked. If organizations of any size adopted just a few better IT management practices, global reduction in carbon emissions of 0.5% to 0.6% could be achieved.

That’s the equivalent of decarbonizing the entire United Kingdom.

We’d call that one big Victoria sponge cake that you (and the rest of the earth) very much get to eat too. This isn’t a compromise on performance or an added cost—it’s the elimination of wasted carbon resulting from inefficient IT management. It’s all possible with just five easy ITAM approaches:

Understand what efficiency looks like

Before we collectively cut the cake, you should first consider your hardware. Remarkably, approximately 65% of total data center energy consumption can be attributed to IT equipment, yet hardware efficiency has long been overlooked. One solution: Enlist a second pair of eyes that knows exactly where to look. By gaining a comprehensive view of their IT infrastructure, you can identify underutilized assets, eliminate redundancies, and minimize power consumption—all leading to significant cost savings. With SHI’s in-depth analysis, you can gain valuable insights into your server estate’s performance efficiency and energy consumption. Our concise rating system provides clear visibility into each server’s performance, allowing you to optimize your IT infrastructure effectively. By prioritizing workloads on low-rated servers and reducing energy usage, you can unlock substantial savings while simultaneously reducing your carbon footprint.

Harness data-driven insights

When it comes to insights that will cut costs and reduce environmental impact, make sure yours are evidence-based. Analyzing a server’s energy, age, and performance variations can allow you to identify inefficient systems that require retirement or replacement. By consolidating workloads onto high-performing servers, you can significantly reduce energy consumption and improve resource utilization. Additionally, component-level analysis empowers you to make informed decisions regarding equipment upgrades, replacements, and project prioritization, ensuring maximum efficiency gains. Embracing these data-driven insights allows you to optimize your IT infrastructure while reducing costs and your environmental footprint.

Implement energy grading labels

Just as energy efficiency labels are used for appliances, your organization can adopt them for your IT infrastructure. Ranging from A+ to F, these can offer a straightforward indication of a system’s compute efficiency. Machine learning algorithms can analyze workload capacity and system efficiency, helping many organizations make informed decisions about energy consumption and resource allocation. This strategy empowers you to identify and retire energy-intensive systems while focusing resources on high-performing and efficient infrastructure.

Don’t just look at the total work that servers can do; rather, look at how efficiently they can do it.

By adopting this approach, your organization can identify the best projects to maximize your bottom line and make the most informed business decisions.

Focus on efficiency improvement projects

Initiatives such as decommissioning and consolidation projects allow you to shrink your physical IT footprints, leading to reduced energy consumption and optimized resource utilization. Furthermore, pre-cloud migration optimization and upgrade strategies enables you to streamline your infrastructure before transitioning to cloud environments. By extending the product life of IT assets through proper maintenance and upgrades, you’ll not only improve your energy efficiency but also achieve long-term cost savings. SHI helps you embark on these customized projects tailored to your environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. Our expertise spans infrastructure, decommissioning, strategic site planning, virtualization, and responsible server disposal—all important elements in your sustainability revamp.  By utilizing the energy grading data, you can support initiatives that both your organization and future generations can be proud of.

Collaborate with sustainability leads

Effective collaboration between IT teams and sustainability leads is crucial for aligning IT strategies with overall sustainability goals. Sustainability leads bring valuable expertise in procurement strategies, configuration practices, and technology choices that prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility. By working together, organizations like yours can drive initiatives with tangible financial and environmental results. This collaboration fosters a holistic approach to sustainability, demonstrating a commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible business practices.

Support your sustainable future

The future of IT could define the future of us. As you navigate the dynamic intersection of technology and sustainability, strategies like these become imperative for making cross-categorical impacts. You’re not just supporting your planet; you’re sustaining your business. We really can have it all if we work together to achieve it. Watch this on-demand recording to learn how SHI’s ITAM experts can help you embrace efficient IT asset management and support your net zero ambitions with notable savings.