T H E E D G E
Arthur Hu , SVP and CIO for Lenovo , Chief Technology and Delivery Officer for Lenovo ’ s Solutions and Services Group
With data centres responsible for up to 1.5 % of global electricity use , according to the International Energy Agency , it ’ s critical that CIOs engage with technologies such as water cooling to increase efficiency and reduce electricity demand .
Modern workloads mean that older aircooling technologies now struggle to keep up while becoming very expensive .
Liquid cooling technologies will be an important factor in responsible computing going forward , and will also enable the sustainable supercomputers which will be crucial to tackling the challenges of climate change .
Decision-makers in IT must also be bold and move beyond the ‘ make , use , destroy ’ of the linear economy to the ‘ design , use , return ’ approach of the circular economy .
The world produces 50 million tonnes of e-waste every year , and just a fifth of this is recycled . Asset recovery services ( ARS ) will be key to this , helping to find the most efficient and clean ways to deal with hardware at the end of its service life , whether that ’ s using the parts in manufacturing , refurbishing , reusing or environmentally friendly scrappage .
For CIOs grappling with the challenges of sustainability , the flexibility of ‘ Deviceas-a-Service ’ models , where devices are recycled or repurposed at the end of their service life , can also help switch to more efficient , environmentally friendly hardware without up-front capital outlay .
Easing the burden
CIOs shoulder responsibilities today including everything from sustainability to DE & I , and wrestle with complexities that tech leaders 20 years ago could barely have anticipated . It can feel like a lonely battle . The right tech investments can ease this burden , empowering CIOs to take charge of their many responsibilities and drive innovation , powering the success of the whole organisation . �
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