CRN Tech Impact Q&A with Pure Storage

VP channel EMEA Geoff Greenlaw says the carbon reduction Pure's solutions offer over competitive products can provide channel partners with 'big differentiator'

Why is Pure Storage backing CRN Tech Impact?

Since our founding, Pure Storage has invested in building sustainable and highly efficient solutions and services. Data centres account for around one per cent of global electricity consumption, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It's a responsibility for all of us in the technology space to do what we can to mitigate the environmental impact of data infrastructure. It's so important that organisations like CRN draw attention to the important issues of sustainability with initiatives such as the CRN Tech Impact Awards.

Where does Pure Storage's offering fit in for channel partners looking to offer more sustainable IT solutions?

We have three strong best practices where we are supporting partners in offering more sustainable solutions.

First, our technology uses less energy to run and results in a smaller data centre footprint. In our inaugural sustainability report we announced that Pure Storage customers can achieve up to an 80 per cent reduction in direct carbon usage by data systems compared to competitive products. That's a big differentiator for any channel partner.

Second, our as-a-service approach means that customers are consuming infrastructure as they need it, implementing storage just in time instead of just in case. The costly and disruptive rip-and-replace projects become a thing of the past through our Evergreen solution which also means less e-waste is going to landfill.

Third, our supply chain is optimised end to end. This includes moving to recyclable packaging and eliminating packaging waste, choosing a sustainable supplier network, and adopting quality-driven manufacturing processes.

To what extent, if at all, has the case for offering more sustainable IT solutions strengthened over the last 12 months?

While it's always been something we're passionate about, there's a growing awareness of the importance of sustainability. We've all experienced the increased temperatures seen in the UK this summer as well as rising energy bills. Building and deploying more sustainable solutions has come racing up the corporate agenda as organsiations move to embrace green solutions. The conversation around this, honestly, wasn't a boardroom discussion a few years ago. Now it's part of every orgnaniastion's agenda.

Where should channel partners start on sustainability? For instance, should they focus more on offering more sustainable IT solutions, or on making their own operations more sustainable?

This has got to be a holistic approach - partners need to think about sustainability from all angles. Any company that doesn't consider their own operations as part of this approach could be at risk of greenwashing. It's everyone's responsibility to consider their impact on the environment and how their organisation can play a part to support energy reduction. Working with technology providers who have proven they can reduce customer's energy use is a vital starting point for channel partners.

A quarter of channel partner respondents questioned by CRN last summer felt that having a strong sustainability and ESG strategy would put their company at a commercial disadvantage. What's your opinion on this?

I'm really surprised by this. As mentioned, in past years sustainability wasn't on the corporate agenda. However now, it's everywhere as the awareness of its importance grows. It's come up in almost every customer meeting I've been in. Not only that but customers are technical and exacting in the details they request: CO2 comparisons on solutions, manufacturing and shipping come up, alongside power consumption. It is a big differentiator for partners to be able to offer customers' greener solutions. Sustainability is only going to grow in importance and any company that doesn't embrace it will be a laggard.

Sustainability is only going to grow in importance and any company that doesn't embrace it will be a laggard

Do you feel the IT channel as a whole is making headway when it comes to sustainability?

Absolutely. Many of the partners we work with closely have already embraced sustainability. Some are creating their own best practice, others are developing go-to-market strategies dedicated to energy reduction. There's a growing awareness about carbon usage and partners have a pivotal role in what happens after the awareness stage. They can truly embed themselves by being trusted advisors and guide customers on this journey.

Other than your own, which company do you most admire when it comes to their sustainability strategy?

There's huge progress from all sectors in terms of sustainability. I'm not talking about offsetting carbon emissions, while that's a worthwhile exercise, organisations should be looking deeper at how much carbon they generate and how much energy they use overall. One that stands out is tech giant Intel, which does a good job of explaining what it's doing and how its actions impact the environment. By examining particular areas of its business it's been able to make big savings in areas like water use, energy use and gas emissions. It's an example of how we should look at every area of a business to make savings.

Pure Storage are an official partner of CRN Tech Impact 2022. Find out more about the campaign here.