Digital Transformation – a Green Global Solution for Buildings

Don’t just make incremental changes to the way you do business, but transform it digitally from the inside out to achieve real measurable benefits, like significantly improved client engagement and satisfaction, as well as substantive productivity gains, significant energy savings and effective resource management.  That’s the clear message from Green Global Solutions CEO Bob Sharon.

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All the signs are pointing to Digital Transformation as the Sustainable way for Businesses to go, says Green Global Solutions in this article written by Ken Hickson, Singapore-based Sustainability Consultant and author of “Race for Sustainability” and “The ABC of Carbon”.

Changing Business from the Inside Out to Achieve Sustainable Economic Outcomes

Don’t just make incremental changes to the way you do business, but transform it digitally from the inside out to achieve real measurable benefits, like significantly improved client engagement and satisfaction, as well as substantive productivity gains, significant energy savings and effective resource management.

That’s the clear message from Green Global Solutions CEO Bob Sharon, who has embarked on a mission to convince businesses in Asia Pacific to not only adopt the latest and best technology, but to innovate in all ways and to address resource inefficiency.

“Take data centres, which are themselves playing a critical role the Digital Transformation process. They need to set an example by making sure they operate in the most efficient way to cut energy use, as they are about to overtake the global aviation industry as one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases,” says the man with years of experience in the IT sector, who is now guaranteeing sustainability results for businesses.

So Digital Transformation is much more than the latest buzz word. For Green Global Solutions, it is “the most sustainable platform for business growth and change” as it demands new investment in technology and business models to effectively engage all stakeholders and deliver greater efficiencies and improved business outcomes.

“Sustainability is not an optional exercise. It is a necessity. So embracing Digital Transformation, coupled with hybrid cloud computing, makes the most sustainable use of all resources, definitely delivering the most promising of business outcomes,” say Mr Sharon.

The term “Digital Transformation” first came into prominence in 2011, after a three-year study was conducted by the MIT Center for Digital Business and Capgemini Consulting, which concluded that only one-third of companies globally had an effective Digital Transformation programme in place.

The study defined an “effective digital transformation” as one that addressed “the intensity of digital initiatives within a corporation” as well as “the ability of a company to master transformational change to deliver business outcomes”.

So what does Digital Transformation really mean in practice?

It is the realignment of, or new investment in, technology and business models to more effectively engage all stakeholders at every touch point in the customer experience lifecycle.

Taking a holistic approach, Mr Sharon believes, means aligning customers’ on-premise applications, IT and data centre infrastructure, along with existing operational processes, to maximise savings of any hybrid cloud strategy.

Customers can then make informed decisions based on accurate information rather than industry hype, with Green Global Solutions playing the role of trusted independent advisor not tied to any particular technology, product, system or supplier.

“One size – or solution – does not fit all, so we look into a customers’ unique circumstances and work through with them in a discovery process and a journey to select the best technological and businesses processes to achieve results,” Mr Sharon insists.

Green Global Solutions started out in Australia and has helped a number of organisations see significant improvements in their bottom line, largely through savings in energy, but also through improved productivity.

Now with its first Asian office in Singapore set up in April (2015), it finds it is in good company with businesses already realising that they must go beyond “green buildings” to transform their businesses, particularly if they are to gain real benefits from energy saving.

As Green Global Solutions positions itself as “the trusted advisor” for many companies venturing out on this journey, it has already secured its first Asia-based customer.  It is undertaking a feasibility study for Aion Technologies Pte Ltd as it considers going on its own Digital Transformation and hybrid cloud computing pathway.

Mr Sharon knows that what they are offering is a one stop shop for sustainability advisory services – particularly for data centres and property owners – which is very much in line with what the Singapore Government advocates with through its agencies, National Environment Agency (NEA), Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA).

According to an announcement by the IDA last month, “energy-guzzling data centres are in for a carbon-friendly makeover” with the introduction of a comprehensive Green Data Centre Innovation Programme (GDCIP) aimed at raising the overall energy efficiency of the Singapore data centre industry to boost its competitiveness.

Under the GDCIP, Singapore will embark on a comprehensive review and assessment of emerging technologies which could significantly improve energy performance. The recommendations are intended to guide the research community, technology companies and the data centre industry in charting their technology directions.

Singapore is already the leading data centre hub of Southeast Asia, with nearly 60 per cent of the region’s data centre capacity. The base will continue to grow as Singapore embarks on its journey to become a Smart Nation underpinned by data and analytics.

Against this backdrop of growing demand for data centre services, IDA sees one of the challenges facing the industry is to rein in rising energy consumption. With Singapore’s tropical climate and high humidity, cooling is a major contributor to the data centres’ already-high energy footprint.

According to the Singapore Green Data Centre Technology Roadmap published in 2014, about 37 per cent of the total energy consumed by data centres is used to cool IT equipment.

Based on IDA’s estimates, the 10 largest data centre operators in Singapore account for energy consumption equivalent to that of 130,000 Housing Development Board (HDB) households. An energy efficiency improvement of 20 per cent in the existing stock of commercial data centres in Singapore could yield combined annual savings of over S$34 million.

Green Global Solutions has already engaged with IDA and other relevant Government agencies, to show where it can promote energy efficiency measures and directly help existing or planned data centres introduce measures and systems which will significantly reduce their energy use.

The company knows that by adopting Digital Transformation and hybrid cloud computing, the data centre industry can continue to grow, while at the same time can introduce measurement and management systems designed to save energy and significantly reduce operational costs.

“We have seen from our work in Australia that energy savings in the order of 40% and 70% are possible. And for data centres – acknowledged to be big energy guzzlers – that means much improved business outcomes,” concludes Mr Sharon.

About Green Global Solutions

Green Global Solutions is headquartered in Australia and has recently opened its Asia Pacific office in Singapore. Green Global delivers guaranteed sustainability results through a holistic approach to their clients’ infrastructure, data centre, and digital transformation projects in the areas of technology, procurement, CSR and finance whilst ensuring positive environmental impact.

Source: www.greenglobalsolutions.com.au