The leading data and analytics company note that hyperscalers are very aware of their capabilities.
Hyperscalers are actively engaging with ESG, and this offers impressive benefits to customers, according to GlobalData, which found potential environmental and commercial benefits ranging from customer energy savings of 20 per cent or more, to 45 per cent waste reduction and 40 per cent water usage reduction, as well as various boosts to productivity and cost reductions (such as up to 60 per cent saved on cloud hosting costs). The leading data and analytics company notes that hyperscalers themselves are very aware of their capabilities, but they need to highlight how their services also benefit customers commercially.
Robert Pritchard, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, said: “Hyperscale cloud service providers are leaders in their commitment to sustainability and obviously understand the impact of their activities on the environment. They are already making great efforts to demonstrate their sustainability strategies, but they need to focus on delivering more proof of tangible commercial benefits to enterprise customers.”
According to GlobalData’s ‘ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Strategy Survey 2021’, 70 per cent of the 1,500 ESG executives surveyed believed that setting ESG targets positively impacted revenue. The same survey found that 80 per cent of companies plan to increase their investments to meet ESG goals.
Luke Gowland, Analyst on the Thematic team at GlobalData, comments: “There is little doubt that companies recognize the importance of ESG. Respondents to GlobalData’s survey said that ESG should be central to decision making, including investment decisions. Moreover, an overwhelming majority (91 per cent) thought that companies should have targets in place to meet ESG goals. CEOs that are too slow to improve their company’s approach to sustainability will see an exodus of customers and a drop in profits far sooner than they ever imagined.”
GlobalData highlights that measurement of ESG activities is of increasing importance for customers, regulators, investors, and talent. The more that hyperscalers can demonstrate delivery from both the environmental and commercial perspectives, the more success they will enjoy in the market.
Pritchard continued: “Measurement of ESG is vital across all sectors, and tech is a leader in this field. Hyperscalers have a great story to tell but could do a lot more as they are well placed to partner with enterprises to improve measurement and reporting of their sustainability efforts up and down the supply chain.
“With ESG top of mind, every use case with proven, measurable customer impact data improves service providers’ market opportunity.”
