While technology continues to drive innovation and sustainability, customers are increasingly finding their existing infrastructure holding them back, said Mary de Wysocki, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer at Cisco.
Speaking at a recent Cisco Live event in Melbourne with partners from NTT Data, de Wysocki argued that organizations urgently need to find a bridge between their sustainability goals and their technology stack.
Tal Nathan, vice president of application solutions, data, analytics and AI at NTT Data, one of the world’s largest Cisco partners, says the current market excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) is primarily driven by business users.
However, he noted that these users often lack an understanding of the complexity and associated costs associated with the IT lifecycle. While concepts like hyperautomation are appealing, the reality of network resiliency remains a hurdle.
sustainability bill
Increasing emissions legislation is forcing organizations to pay close attention to the environmental impact of their technology consumption. Nathan noted that Cisco’s transparency around product data allows companies like NTT Data to deliver the “science of the possible.”
While many customers still aren’t explicitly asking about the emissions associated with service production, Nathan said, “smart people understand it.” These mature organizations are now demanding ‘sustainability invoices’ alongside standard financial invoices, with carbon footprint becoming a key factor in purchasing decisions alongside features and price.
Cisco responded by adopting circular design principles. de Wysocki said all products introduced this year are more modular, easier to disassemble and ship in smaller packages. However, she emphasized that the company’s primary responsibility lies in the power consumed by its products in the field, and improved power efficiency directly correlates to lower total cost of ownership.
Fusion of IT and energy
An important aspect of modern sustainability is the ability to respond to signals from energy providers regarding peak demand. For example, pause non-critical workloads until the peak has passed.
Sustainable IT isn’t just about reducing power usage or supplier ‘take back’ arrangements, says Nathan, it’s also about using technology, including AI, to make an organization more efficient. He highlighted Cisco’s Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, which helps organizations integrate their IT and energy networks.
Mr. de Wysocki elaborated on this further, pointing out that automating the physical workplace can significantly reduce energy consumption. Simple measures like blinds that automatically adjust to the sun’s position can help. She noted that Cisco itself has achieved a high return on investment by bringing these technologies in-house.
Sustainability measures are becoming a standard requirement for large customers, but they also need to be considered as a matter of risk mitigation. For example, responding to severe weather has tangible costs.
However, Nathan suggested that most organizations currently lack the maturity to execute these projects independently. As a result, consulting engagements are often initiated to determine feasibility, costs, and projected benefits. The cost of the necessary hardware, such as sensors, has fallen enough to justify these efforts.
Most of this work is now being done with the chief financial officer, Nathan said. Financial benefits remain the easiest to sell, and even 1% energy savings can be significant for large organizations. However, he cautioned that the data used in these calculations must be robust to ensure modeling results are reliable.
Beyond FOMO
Regarding AI, Nathan emphasized the importance of clearly defining the business problem and the value of solving it.
De Wysocki said a vague desire to become an AI company is not enough and is often a symptom of “fear of missing out” (FOMO). She suggested that leaders should instead ask, “What are my capabilities that add value?” And he cautioned that time to productivity is critical.
Fortunately, most organizations are more similar than you might think, so you can apply existing reference architectures. Best practices are often already defined, Nathan said.
But if an organization sets a goal to monetize AI more efficiently than others, it consumes a lot of energy and needs to be done efficiently.
Ultimately, energy management will be the difference between winning and losing. “Reducing your electricity usage is a means of survival,” says Nathan.
