Jeff Stewart, Group Vice President of Product Management at SolarWinds

By Jeff Stewart

While the IT industry isn’t the biggest contributor to environmental damage, it still has a significant impact—one that is growing as we increasingly rely on technology. Data centres, which power everything from cloud storage to online banking, require large amounts of electricity. And meanwhile, the quick turnover of computers, servers, and mobile devices is contributing to electronic waste.

With Australia facing environmental issues such as flooding or extreme heatwaves, businesses need to rethink how they design, use, and dispose of IT systems to minimise their footprint. Sustainability in IT isn’t just about reducing harm—it’s about actively finding smarter ways to make technology more energy-efficient, long-lasting, and less wasteful.

Being mindful about the environment can also help strengthen relationships with stakeholders. Consumers and investors are now paying attention to whether businesses are genuinely carrying out their environmental commitments. This means companies that align their sustainability messaging with real action will build stronger trust with their customers and enhance their brand reputation.

So what must businesses keep in mind to take care of the environment while leveraging their technology?

Smarter data management

If systems speak in data, they speak in many different languages. Today’s IT environment sees data spread across various platforms, each presenting unique formats. The sheer volume and velocity of data generated by IT systems can complicate real-time processing, causing bottlenecks.

These roadblocks call for advanced processing tools so that diffuse material can be collated and converted into wise decisions on sustainability. That’s when observability solutions step in. They suck up vast quantities of infrastructure data and use it to map the inner workings of an ecosystem so that IT professionals can identify issues before they become disruptions. While traditional monitoring tools help us understand individual systems, observability offers a more complete view of an ecosystem’s overall health.

This is a key advantage. Many teams currently rely on multiple different monitoring tools from various vendors to monitor their IT environments. By combining several tools into a single observability solution, organisations can decrease the overhead and energy consumption required to maintain multiple systems.

With the right tools in place, businesses can manage their data better and reduce their environmental impact, making smarter decisions.

An efficient IT infrastructure

One of observability’s primary benefits is reducing system downtime, a major energy drain for organisations. The power needed to restart hardware components causes a surge in consumption, while cooling systems may need extra energy to cope with rapid temperature changes. Backup systems like Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and generators are often activated during system failures, using more energy than the main systems that run during normal operations.

New artificial intelligence (AI)-driven features in modern observability solutions can intervene to address potential issues before they cause a crash. It’s not just issue prevention—observability tools also improve consistency when systems run perfectly.

Costly energy spikes occur due to sudden increases in power consumption stemming from high computational demand during periods of high traffic, batch processing, data analysis, or other resource-intensive operations. Observability solutions provide real-time performance metrics and resource utilisation data for dynamic load balancing.

Advanced analytics can predict high-demand periods based on historical data, helping IT managers proactively distribute workloads and prevent sudden power surges. With observability, IT professionals are in the loop, capable of taking action to maintain the efficiency of their organisation’s energy consumption.

Long-term goals for a sustainable future

The focus on sustainability in IT must evolve in order to create a resilient digital future. It’s not just about upgrading infrastructure or adopting greener technologies, but also about fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Embracing smarter IT systems can offer a unique opportunity to create lasting change across the industry.

The true value of sustainable IT lies in its potential to transform the way businesses operate and grow. Companies that take a proactive approach to sustainability in IT are positioning themselves to be more adaptable, future-proof, and aligned with the growing expectations of both consumers and investors.

Sustainability in IT is an essential element of business strategy. One that can unlock new opportunities and help pave the way for a more sustainable, efficient, and intelligent digital future.

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