“OpenText is committed to an emissions reduction target of 50% by 2030 and net-zero by 2040 as well as zero-waste to landfill from operations by 2030.” Read more

On April 22^nd we´ve celebrated Earth Day, a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability and because of that, zero  Footprint articulates OpenText commitment to measuring and managing our environmental impact and integrating environmental innovation into our everyday business practices. OpenText is committed to achieving its Zero Footprint goals, developing solutions that create a positive impact to foster a sustainable future.

Among the different technological solutions that OpenText can provide to achieve this positive impact, we can find our corporate data protection solution. OpenText Data Protector is an Enterprise Backup and Recovery solution that has helped for more than 35 years customers to protect their critical data and that can help customers to minimize its carbon footprint with a smarter data protection strategy.

From a technological point of view, this can be considered a given within backup and recovery solutions, so what is the difference, what sets OpenText Data Protector apart from the others?

Data Protector was designed from its inception to manage some of the most complex environments available 35 years ago, and subsequently implemented also for less complex environments, it can therefore be said that it has a top-down approach.

This approach has allowed and allows the solution to be considered a workhorse for almost any type of environment, offering a 360º corporate protection solution instead of a niche solution. Read also the position paper to learn about the backup and recovery considerations in 2023.

In the following sections, we will explore some of the current implications of digitalization as well as strategic and sustainable backup and recovery functions to safeguard critical business data while reducing carbon footprint.

The environmental cost of the big data era

We live in the age of big data, in which the data generation process takes place continuously every second. According to the latest estimates, 328.77 million terabytes of data are created every day and by 2025, global data creation is projected to grow to over 180 zettabytes.

Every bit of data stored in data centers, no matter if they are on-prem or in the cloud, use a lot of energy. Energy that keeps servers running and protects data from heat damage by cooling the systems, silently humming energy that serves to store and manage crucial digital information for businesses. A situation that, although essential, hides a truth that is often overlooked: the planet's carbon emissions. See "Big Data cannot be a challenge in today´s world".

Cyber attacks as a threat to environmental systems

In today's world, new digital hackers do not differentiate, or do not care to differentiate, the type of attacks they carry out and the type of impact they may have. A cyber attack on a private institution may have a different impact than that carried out on a public institution, although both may provide critical services to citizens.

A cyberattack can impact a company's payment system, transportation service, hinder pollution control, or even cause potential environmental disasters if systems such as water treatment plants are compromised.

In response some regions, like the European Union, adopted the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2), which aims to more effectively protect critical infrastructure like the examples mentioned above. Read more: Complying with Global Cyber-Security Regulations

The aforementioned implications are just a small example of how the IT industry is impacting the planet. 

Just as the Data Protector inkless pen is sustainable and eco-friendly, let´s talk now about how OpenText Enterprise Backup and Recovery solution can help the planet reduce carbon emissions:

Increase your capabilities with a solution for all types of environments instead of a niche solution: as commented, Data Protector is one of the  few single backup solutions  suitable for all data and  storage types and it can provides  disaster recovery from cloud, disk, and tape for virtual and physical data in diverse, dynamic and distributed enterprises.

Optimize energy efficiency capabilities: due to its top-down approach, we support data transition from infrastructure to virtual to cloud with no backup disruption, with the right storage technology for every data type. This means that we can use the most appropriate policies and processes to reduce energy consumption.

• As digital data volumes double every year (and even more), one of the key backup functionalities is data deduplication. This capability helps reduce your backup footprint (saves storage space), decreases bandwidth consumption, and reduces power consumption. As a first step, a deduplication backup strategy based on hardware or software processes, is a must to support the environment.
• At OpenText Data Protector, tape has always been an integral part of our DNA, woven into the very fabric of our product since its inception. Tape storage is a highly cost-effective solution when compared to disk alternatives for backup purposes. Additionally, landmark studies by industry expert Brad Johns show that automated tape libraries consume 87% less energy than equivalent amounts of hard disk drive capacity and over their lifecycle from cradle to grave produce 97% less CO2e and reduce e-waste at end-of life by 85%. Therefore, and for long-term retention policies, the solution's ability to manage this type of device is key in order to reduce energy consumption. But also, for the ultimate air-gapping strategy, an offloaded tape remains incomparable to be able to face possible cyber attacks and avoid the previously mentioned impacts. Watch "The missing link in cybersecurity" to learn how Data Protector can be an organization's missing link in their cybersecurity strategy.

Maximize available resources: Data Protector helps effectively plan and execute digital transformation strategy by supporting hybrid and heterogeneous environments under a single solution. And with its advanced reporting capabilities, allows a comprehensive management that reduces employee travel and eliminating related GHG emissions, but it also provides real-time insights that help reduce redundancies, rework, bottlenecks, and costs to ultimately reduce your digital carbon footprint.

OpenText, an information management company, can provide end-to-end data lifecycle management solutions including Enterprise Backup and Recovery for critical data, not only to streamline the daily operations and be ready against any type of contingency, but also to help our customers to reduce their carbon footprint with smarter data protection. Learn more about our customer success stories and how Data Protector helped customers achieve 100% success rate on data restores, achieve the desired simplification and standardization of processes for storage and backup management, reach 90% application coverage or become more cost efficient thanks to deduplication (25:1) and compression capabilities.

Explore how OpenText Data Protector can help your organization to ensure data integrity and data protection. 

Request a free trial of OpenText Data Protector  

Learn more about Cloud data backup and restore  

Already a Data Protector customer? Learn what is new in the latest version. 

Read about data backup and resiliency  

Read what analysts say about Data Protector 

Read what a customer is saying about Data Protector 

Watch the Data Protector videos on YouTube