Sustainability in Action: How Green IT is Transforming Data Storage

As IT leaders race to keep up with the demands of cloud computing, big data and especially AI, the energy consumption and efficiency of their data centers has become a major concern. This is where the sustainability of their data storage infrastructure comes into focus. Shifting from what may have once been seen as a tactical necessity, to become a strategic imperative for meeting an organization’s operational AND environmental objectives.

Real Metrics, Real Results

Sustainable data storage today is more than just using energy-efficient hardware. It encompasses a holistic approach to managing data throughout its lifecycle. This includes minimizing data redundancy, optimizing data storage tiers and leveraging renewable energy sources. And that’s just for starters.

Integrated into a broader green IT strategy, a sustainable storage strategy can significantly reduce carbon emissions, reduce operational costs and enhance long-term resilience.

By rethinking how and where data is stored, businesses can align their digital transformation goals with their corporate sustainability targets. And then validate it with a combination of real metrics and real results.

Sustainability, Resilience, Performance: Choose Any Three

While it may have been acceptable at one time to compromise on performance to achieve energy efficiency, the stakes are way too big for that now. In the age of AI, IT and business leaders need to be able to deliver on all cylinders, with data storage solutions that allow them to meet environmental goals without giving anything up in terms of cost, resilience or performance.

This is something we’re proud to have achieved with Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One), which delivers exceptional results with minimal environmental impact.

In addition to building on our legacy of providing the world’s most resilient data infrastructure, our latest generation of midmarket solutions – VSP One Block – was recently rated by ENERGY STAR as the top two performers in IOPs/Watt, which measures storage performance against energy efficiency.

Learn more about our top performing ENERGY STAR rated VSP One Block solutions, and more,  in our webinar, Achieving Green IT. Guaranteed. Image shows ENERGY STAR data as of March 2025 for latest generation all-flash storage only, NVSS Set Disk Online 4, Block I/O storage

Make Energy Efficiency Measurable With VSP 360 Clear Sight

Implementing a green IT solution is just part of the equation. Decision-makers today also need concrete numbers that demonstrate their environmental responsibility, alongside their operational efficiency. With VSP One, our customers now have access to a comprehensive power monitoring tools, in the form of Hitachi VSP 360 Clear Sight, that provide actionable insights in real-time.

With VSP 360 Clear Sight, VSP One users have the visibility to see:

• Current and historical power consumption for their storage systems.
• Insight into the carbon impact of their storage at a global, site and system level.
• Recommendations for reducing energy consumption and optimizing storge for greater efficiency.

With selected systems, users can also view power consumption against Sustainability SLA thresholds (more on this SLA below), and alerts and support when thresholds are exceeded.

New Sustainability SLA Guarantee: Monitor, Analyze, Optimize

Several weeks ago my colleague Ian Clatworthy wrote about how Hitachi Vantara is turning up the volume on guaranteed data, with the introduction of three entirely new customer guarantees designed to further reduce cyber and regulatory risk, improve performance and efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.

Of course, the Hitachi name has long been associated with the world’s most resilient data infrastructure, backed by the broadest and most comprehensive range of customer guarantees on the market.

But with our new Sustainability SLA Guarantee, we’re taking guarantees and SLAs into a whole new arena. It’s designed to help businesses optimize energy efficiency and save money while achieving their environmental objectives. IT teams can easily track power use and carbon impact, while leadership teams will appreciate the observability and insights into resource utilization, adaptive data reduction (ADR) and power consumption. All of which are essential to reducing power consumption and costs and to minimizing your datacenter carbon footprint.

If your systems don't meet the promised power efficiency targets, we'll work with you to make it right. You see, this isn't just a product promise. It's our commitment to helping you achieve your sustainability goals.

Setting New Standards for Environmental Responsibility

Being committed to Green IT isn't just about checking boxes or meeting minimum standards. It's about consistently pushing boundaries and setting new benchmarks for what environmentally responsible technology can really achieve. That’s because, at Hitachi, we believe that technical innovation and environmental responsibility should always go hand in hand.

Watch our on-demand webinar, Achieving Green IT, Guaranteed to learn more or connect with your Hitachi Vantara representative to get the sustainability conversation started.

Read more 

• Webinar: Achieving Green IT, Guaranteed
• Blog: Now THREE Things in Life Are Guaranteed
• Webpage: Let Data Lead the Way to a Sustainable Future
• eBook: Unbreakable Core: Extend Trusted SLAs and Guarantees Across the Entire Data Plane
• Top 10 reasons: Hitachi VSP 360 Clear Sight Observability