IDC White Paper Shows How A Hybrid Multicloud Infrastructure Cut Space Energy and Carbon in the Datacenter
By Andrea Osika, Senior Product Marketing Manger, Sustainability
A new IDC White Paper, sponsored by Nutanix, Hybrid Multicloud Deployment Choices Can Increase ROI Via Sustainability Benefits1, shows how infrastructure choices reduced rack space by up to 80% for one organization, cut carbon emissions by 200 metric tons per year for another, and shrunk energy consumption by 60%-80% for both organizations that were interviewed. These outcomes aren’t solely sustainability victories - they also translate to cutting overhead and operational costs that can be reallocated to meet other business needs..
The demand for datacenter space and power to support the necessary infrastructure has never been higher2 thanks to cloud computing, AI, and Internet of Things (IOT), all of which call for intensive data storage and processing. This comes with environmental consequences, which span from land and resources used for construction, to water for cooling, and extend to the supply chains that manufacture the hardware and chips to store and process the world’s data. Another significant consequence is the massive carbon footprint caused by the energy required to run datacenters.
IDC predicts that “By 2026, 60% of enterprises will implement sustainable AI frameworks, leveraging data-driven decisions to scale AI operations across datacenter locations while meeting decarbonization goals.1”
Enterprises are seeking ways to balance AI-driven innovation and data growth with meeting sustainability goals. As indicated in the 2025 Enterprise Cloud Index3, over 80% of organizations have already implemented a GenAI Strategy - but not without challenges or concerns. AI and GenAI deployments are worrisome to enterprises, as almost a quarter (23.4%) of IDC’s FERS Wave 7 respondents feel that “Concerns about sustainability/energy cost/emissions running AI infrastructure” is significantly limiting further development of custom AI apps in their organization.4
Energy and space savings while cutting carbon
The timely IDC study was a result of in-depth interviews of two Nutanix customers who leveraged Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) to address challenges associated with application and infrastructure modernization. Significant space and power consumption reductions were shared by a media and publishing company.
"Rack space across two key datacenters was reduced by 80%. Power consumption was reduced by over 75% in total, and over 80% at the DR site."
- Global Data Center Operations Manager, Media and Publishing1
Another use case from the study reported reducing carbon emissions by around 200 metric tons of carbon equivalents (MTCO2e), which by Environmental Protection Agency estimates would take 201 acres of US forest a year to sequester5.
Aside from the energy, space and carbon savings a hybrid multicloud infrastructure can help achieve, it can address other key considerations during IT modernizing efforts, such as unpredictable or uncertain demand, data sovereignty, regulatory compliance and efficient resilience and disaster recovery:
"For the next five years … we've got enough resiliency and capacity…so I don't need to procure any more services from the cloud provider or Nutanix. There's been a great financial benefit to us."
- Senior digital Infrastructure Manger, Public Sector1
Modernized Infrastructure is Sustainable Infrastructure
The trend for increased demands for space and energy in datacenters is predicted to continue thanks to AI and GenAI workloads6. Organizations can prioritize sustainable technologies in their investment strategy to transform risks into opportunities for innovation and leadership. A flexible, future-ready platform that enables workload portability and AI functionality while decreasing the physical footprint can lead to reduced energy consumption that can support both modernization and sustainability goals.
We invite you to explore the full IDC White Paper and discover how NC2 can drive significant value for your organization. Click here to download the full paper and learn how the power of hybrid multicloud led to sustainable outcomes and inspire your strategy.
About Nutanix
Nutanix is a global leader in cloud software, offering organizations a single platform for running apps and data across clouds. With Nutanix, companies can reduce complexity and simplify operations, freeing them to focus on their business outcomes. Building on its legacy as the pioneer of hyperconverged infrastructure, Nutanix is trusted by companies worldwide to power hybrid multicloud environments consistently, simply, and cost-effectively. Learn more at www.nutanix.com or follow us on social media @nutanix.
1Source: IDC White Paper, sponsored by Nutanix, Hybrid Mulitcloud Deployment Choices Can Increase ROI Via Sustainability Benefits (IDC # IDC #US53179725, March 2024)
Source: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide IT Industry 2025 Predictions (IDC #US51736824, October 2024).
2https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/AI-poised-to-drive-160-increase-in-power-demand
3https://www.nutanix.com/enterprise-cloud-index
4Source: IDC's Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey: 1H24 Results with Network Management Impact (IDC:# US52838824, December 2024)
5Calculated by visiting https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator#results and entering 200MTCO2e
6 https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/AI-poised-to-drive-160-increase-in-power-demand
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