Geopolitical tensions, rising interest rates, and economic instability are reshaping global trade and business strategies.

As Natalya Makarochkina, senior vice president of Secure Power Division, International Operations at Schneider Electric, writes in her recent thought leadership piece, “CIOs must prioritize security, resilience, and sustainability as they digitally transform their organizations for the future.”

Sustainability at the Core of Digital Transformation

Sustainability, according to Makarochkina, is now a primary focus for CIOs. Quoting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), she emphasizes,

“There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”

Currently, data centers and transmission networks account for only 1.5% of global energy demand, but this is expected to grow by 20% to 70% annually.

Therefore, CIOs must ensure that their entire digital infrastructure—from the frontline sensors to the cloud—is energy efficient and sustainable.

Makarochkina highlights Schneider Electric’s role in this space, noting,

“Through our global sustainability consulting services, we not only share our own sustainability journey but also offer our expertise to help other organizations meet their sustainability goals.”

She adds that tools such as data center infrastructure management (DCIM) and environmental sustainability management (ESM) are crucial for giving CIOs the granular data they need to optimize energy usage and meet emissions targets.

Furthermore, CIOs must actively collaborate with business leaders across the organization to help them understand the tools and services available for achieving their sustainability objectives.

“The CIO is increasingly becoming the gatekeeper for green value, helping organizations combat greenwashing and implement real, measurable sustainability practices,” Makarochkina states.

The AI-Driven Supercycle and Its Challenges

AI adoption is accelerating, with Gartner predicting that by 2026, 80% of enterprises will have deployed generative AI applications.

Makarochkina points out that while AI offers significant benefits—including improved productivity, enhanced customer experiences, and new product creation—it also presents new challenges.

“Enterprises must prepare for the architectural, sustainability, and security demands that come with AI, particularly in areas such as power supply, cooling, rack space, and connectivity,” she explains.

Schneider Electric has addressed these challenges in its white paper The AI Disruption: Challenges and Guidance for Data Center Design, which provides CIOs with the insights needed to leverage AI while ensuring their infrastructure can handle the increased demands.

Strengthening Cybersecurity Amid Growing Threats

Cybersecurity remains a top concern for CIOs as cybercriminals become more sophisticated, targeting specific industries such as healthcare and media. “In times of uncertainty, criminals will exploit vulnerabilities,” Makarochkina writes, referencing the rise in ransomware attacks. To counter this, she advises, “CIOs must adopt the Zero Trust Model (ZTM) of least privileged access, ensuring that users and devices are protected no matter where they are.”

As digital infrastructure grows, even traditionally non-digital equipment like plant machinery and smart UPS systems are becoming part of the attack surface. “These devices must be treated as part of the digital estate and protected just as rigorously as servers and network switches,” she warns.

Building Resilience for Future Challenges

Makarochkina also emphasizes the need for resilience. “Recent years have shown us that organizations must be resilient and agile in the face of continuous shocks,” she notes. By leveraging the right technologies, CIOs can build resilience across their organizations, empowering employees and enhancing overall efficiency.

Resilience is not just about withstanding shocks but also about remaining adaptable. CIOs who prioritize resilience will be better equipped to manage hybrid architectures and sophisticated systems, ensuring that their organizations remain competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.

A Unified Technology Vision for Digital Transformation

In her thought leadership piece, Makarochkina underscores the importance of consolidating technology stacks to drive digital transformation.

“Many organizations are moving towards a single technology vision,” she writes.

Historically, enterprises managed multiple lines of business with distinct technology stacks, but through 2024, CIOs will increasingly focus on unifying these systems to improve overall business performance.

This consolidation is crucial for maintaining momentum, especially as new technologies such as Web3 and the enterprise metaverse emerge.

Makarochkina warns, “When businesses focus on too many technology initiatives at once, they risk losing efficiency and diluting the impact of each initiative.”

Attracting and Retaining Top Talent

As the demand for tech talent grows, particularly in AI, machine learning, and automation, CIOs must ensure their organizations are attractive to skilled professionals. Makarochkina writes,

“IT professionals seek environments where technology makes their jobs easier and where they can work on fulfilling projects that make a difference.”

In addition, CIOs must also focus on developing their workforce. “CIOs must create learning pathways for employees to grow and ensure that they are equipped with the skills needed to navigate the future of work,” she advises.

The CIO Outlook: Challenges and Opportunities

Looking ahead, Makarochkina anticipates that CIOs will continue to grapple with challenges related to sustainability, security, resilience, and talent acquisition. However, she remains optimistic about their role in shaping the future.

“The CIO has emerged as one of the most valued roles in the C-suite,” she writes. “Those who can navigate the complexities of today’s digital landscape will position their organizations for success in the coming years.”

The post CIOs Face Pressing Challenges in AI, Cybersecurity, and Sustainability, Says Industry Expert appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Despite many predictions of its demise, it has remained a more or less guiding principle. However, what is perhaps less well known is a similarly persistent trend in the data centre space.  

Despite a six-fold increase in the data being processed since 2010, data centre energy consumption has only risen by 6% to 2018 (Masanet et al, 2020). How has that been possible, and how does it inform sustainability developments into the future? 

Where does the data come from? 

To contextualise this development, we must first understand where the data processing increase has come from.  

 The Apple iPad got its debut in 2010, which also saw the introduction of Instagram and Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. 2011 introduced us to Minecraft, Snapchat, and Uber, with 2013 bringing Amazon’s Alexa, accompanied by Xbox One and PlayStation. 2017 brought Fortnite and Tiktok.  

Social media engagement over the period increased manifold, while global data production went from estimates of 2 zettabytes in 2010 to 41 zettabytes  in 2019. IDC estimates global data load will rise to a staggering 175 zettabytes by 2025.   

The pandemic effect has been substantial, with the MENA region seeing a big increase in messaging and social media usage: Social Media Users in MEA and Latin America spend the most time on social networks, averaging over 3.5 hours a day. 

More than half of users in MEA (57%) reported (May 2020) spending even more time on social media as a result of the pandemic. Similarly, in a separate study, 71% of Middle East respondents reported WhatsApp and other messaging apps usage increased since the outbreak of the pandemic. 

What impact does all that data have? 

To understand the impact of this data explosion, a concept has been developed called data gravity. Coined by engineer David McRory, the term refers to the tendency of an accumulation of data to attract applications and services toward it, precipitating further accumulation, which can lead to immobilisation of the data, as well as underutilisation.

Data that grows too big, too fast can become immobile, reducing its value and increasing its opacity. Only low latency, high bandwidth services, combined with new data architectures can combat this growing, and largely undocumented phenomenon.  

What tech developments have made this possible? 

Multiple technological developments can account for this data explosion being handled with only minimal increases in energy consumption, from improvements in processor design and manufacture, through power supply units and storage, but also the migration of workloads from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud.  

Schneider Electric has been committed to sustainable business for decades. That has meant a renewed focus on efficiency in all aspects of design and operation. Gains have been made in efficiency in power and cooling, with UPS systems and modular power supplies showing significant gains with each generation, culminating in the likes of the current Galaxy VL line.

This line’s use of lithium-ion batteries has not only increased efficiency, it has extended operational life, reduced environmental impact in reducing raw materials, and facilitated “energized swapping”, where the addition and/or replacement of power modules can be performed with zero downtime, while increasing protection to operators and service personnel. 

Advances in cooling, such as flow control through rack, row and pod containment systems, liquid cooling, and intelligent software control ensure that the pure data processing gains are met and matched.  

By ensuring that every link in the chain of power from energy grid to rack is as efficient, intelligent, and instrumented as possible, we provide the right basis for the rapid development in compute, network, and storage that continues daily.  

Where does software and apps fit here? 

Another key element of the technological development that has allowed such relentless efficiency has been the application of better instrumentation, data gathering, and analysis that allows for better control and orchestration. This was illustrated by Google’s DeepMind AI, where the energy used for cooling was reduced at one of its data centres by some 40% in 2016, which represented a 15% overall reduction in power usage.

This was accomplished using historical data from data centre sensors such as temperature, power, pump speeds, setpoints, etc, to improve data centre energy efficiency. The AI system predicted the future temperature and pressure of the data centre over the coming hour and made recommendations to control consumption appropriately.  

The development of data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) systems has continued apace too, allowing the integration of AI to take advantage of all of these hardware and infrastructure developments. These experiments are now features, allowing unprecedented visibility and control. For those designing for new developments, software such as ETAP, allows power efficiency to be built into the design from the outset, while also accommodating microgrid architectures.  

What new data sources will contribute to this? 

The data explosion is expected to continue increasing, with developments such as industrial IoT, 5G, with increasing general automation and autonomous vehicles as driving factors. The data that will be generated, far from the centralized data infrastructure, must be handled, processed and turned into intelligence quickly, where it is needed.  

New data architectures are expected to improve efficiency in how all of that is handled. Edge computing is seen as an important approach to manage more data being generated at the edge.  

In one example, genomic research generates terabytes of data, often daily. Sending all that data to a centralized data centre would be slow, demand high bandwidth and be inefficient. The Wellcome Sanger Institute created an edge computing approach that allowed it to process data close to where it is produced, the genomic sequencers, with only what is necessary centralized. This saves on storage, bandwidth and speeds the time to intelligence from data. That is where the edge paradigm has come to us, said Simon Binley, data centre manager, Sanger Institute. 

Modular data centres, micro data centres and better storage management will all contribute to handling this developing wave efficiently, keeping that data centre energy consumption line as flat into the future. In the MENA region, 5G, and centralisation with edge architectures will be balanced by more hyperscale facilities linking major demand centres.  

What effects will this have on the whole data ecosystem?

However, efficiency must extend through not just the supply chain, but also throughout lifecycles. Vendors, suppliers, and partners must all be engaged to ensure that no part of the ecosystem lags in applying the tools to ensure efficiency.

This applies as much in the design time of new equipment and applications as it does through working life and decommissioning. Understanding how an entire business ecosystem impacts the environment will be vital to truly achieving net zero goals.  

 Agreed standards, transparency and measurability are all vital factors to ensure results.  

These considerations are taking hold across the region, great efforts being made to do better. Greater transparency is now accepted and embraced, with more and more organisations reporting their progress.  

Tools and processes shared 

The data centre sector has much that will be of use to organisations and industries going on the journey of sustainability towards increasing circularity. With the expertise and experience in efficiency, combined with the tools and intelligence from operations, and deep commitments to tight targets for net-zero operations, the data centre sector can not only handle the data explosion and digital demands of the world, but do so sustainably, while providing others with the tools and insights to do the same for their respective sectors.  

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