Sign in to my dashboard Create an account
Menu

Building a more efficient data center: Discover NetApp's updated BlueXP sustainability dashboard

Contents

Share this page

Portrait of Charles Hayes
Charles Hayes
169 views

In 2023, when we gave the world a sneak peek at the NetApp® BlueXP™ sustainability dashboard, Matt Watts said, “If you can’t measure sustainability, you can’t manage it.” Customers who’ve adopted the dashboard have taken actions that significantly reduce energy consumption and costs in their data centers. We believe that knowledge is the first step to a more energy and cost-efficient data center. It’s our goal to give our customers the power to make the kind of impactful decisions that produce real and measurable results. That's why we're excited to announce significant updates to our BlueXP sustainability dashboard.

In this blog post, we explore how these updates make it easier for you to decide what actions to take to improve energy efficiency and build a more ustainable data center.

Overview of the sustainability dashboard

Since its launch last year, the BlueXP sustainability dashboard has been a valuable tool for tracking progress and measuring impact. It enables NetApp users to monitor their sustainability efforts and identify areas for improvement. With a powerful combination of simplicity and deep data analysis, the dashboard has become an essential resource for businesses and individuals committed to sustainability.

Key components and benefits of the dashboard

The BlueXP sustainability dashboard is both powerful and simple. It has three key components.

  • Environmental indicators. Customers can quickly and easily see their actual and projected power, thermal, and carbon metrics. This information is crucial for prioritizing systems or sites that need improvement and for projecting what the next month, quarter, or year will look like if things continue as they are.
  • Sustainability score. This unique fact-based metric assesses how many key NetApp ONTAP® features, services, and best practices geared toward improving storage optimization and sustainability are enabled. This information makes it easy for customers to see their current state and track progress toward their sustainability goals.
  • Recommended actions. We use AIOps to uncover opportunities for customers to improve their carbon footprint, and we offer prescriptive guidance to make the recommended changes. From leveraging efficiency features to tiering inactive data to the cloud to enabling FlexCache® or FlexClone® technology, we tell you exactly what to do and how to do it.

All of this detail is also available at the cluster level, helping customers create detailed reports and prioritize which systems need attention to reach sustainability goals.

How it works

  1. Access the dashboard. Log in to your NetApp Support Site account and head to the BlueXP sustainability dashboard.
  2. View your sustainability metrics. On the dashboard, you'll see comprehensive, fact-based environmental indicators, including power, thermal, and carbon metrics. These metrics provide a clear picture of your current sustainability status.
  3. Check your sustainability score. The sustainability score helps you understand how well you're using NetApp ONTAP features and services that enhance sustainability. This score is a quick way to assess your progress and pinpoint areas for improvement.
  4. Follow recommended actions. Our AIOps-powered recommendations are tailored to your specific setup. The new roll-up of actions on the dashboard guides you through practical steps to enhance your sustainability efforts. These actions include leveraging efficiency features, tiering inactive data to the cloud, and using technologies like FlexCache and FlexClone.

Expanded support for E-Series and StorageGRID

The latest update extends the capabilities of the BlueXP sustainability dashboard beyond the ONTAP ecosystem. We have added support for NetApp E-Series storage systems and StorageGRID® object-based storage system, broadening the scope of the dashboard.

E-Series. This integration enables detailed tracking of environmental indicators and sustainability scores for E-Series storage arrays, providing a deeper insight into their energy consumption, thermal output, and overall carbon footprint.

StorageGRID. StorageGRID object support helps users to assess and improve the sustainability of their distributed storage environments. By analyzing the carbon impact and implementing recommended actions that are specific to StorageGRID, customers can make informed decisions to optimize energy efficiency and data management practices.

New roll-up of actions

The BlueXP sustainability dashboard is available under governance, or through Active IQ® Digital Advisor, and the NetApp Support Site. This feature takes the dashboard to the next level by giving users clear and actionable steps they can take to improve their sustainability.

The new roll-up of actions simplifies the process of identifying and prioritizing actions, making it easier for users to know where to focus their efforts. Whether it's reducing energy consumption, optimizing waste management, or promoting eco-friendly practices, the roll-up of actions offers tailored recommendations based on users' specific goals and circumstances.

more-efficient-data-center-FIG1-926x463.jpg

A renewable energy/carbon mitigation percentage is now included in sustainability score computation and is available in the roll-up of recommended actions.

Real-world impact

To give you an idea of the tangible benefits, let's look at some real-world examples of how our customers are using the BlueXP sustainability dashboard to make significant advances in their sustainability efforts.

  • Reducing energy consumption. One of our clients, a major retail chain, used the dashboard to identify stores with the highest energy consumption. By following the recommended actions, they reduced their energy usage by 15% within 6 months.
  • Optimizing waste management. A large manufacturing company streamlined its waste management processes by implementing the suggestions provided by the dashboard. This action not only reduced their waste by 20%, it also saved them thousands of dollars in disposal costs.
  • Promoting eco-friendly practices. A tech startup used the dashboard to promote eco-friendly practices across their offices. They implemented the recommended changes and saw a noticeable improvement in employee engagement and sustainability scores.

Satisfied users

We're proud to share some compelling statistics that highlight the widespread adoption and positive impact of our BlueXP sustainability dashboard.

  • Impressive adoption rate. Already, 26% of our installed base has tried the BlueXP sustainability dashboard.
  • High satisfaction levels. Among these users, a remarkable 80% have rated the dashboard as "good" or "great."
  • Significant improvements: 74% of dashboard users have improved their sustainability score by implementing the recommended actions offered by the dashboard.

These statistics show the dashboard's usability, and also its powerful capability to drive measurable sustainability improvements. With such high user satisfaction and proven results, the BlueXP sustainability dashboard has become an essential tool for businesses dedicated to creating a greener future.

Join the community

For NetApp, sustainability is not a trend; it's a necessity for us and for our customers as we face an explosion of data and the power required to store it and manage it. With the updated features of the BlueXP sustainability dashboard, you can take major steps toward a more sustainable and cost-effective data center.

We invite you to join the growing community of businesses and individuals who are making a positive impact with NetApp. Sign up today and start using the BlueXP sustainability dashboard to track your progress, implement recommended actions, and achieve your sustainability goals.

Click here to learn more about BlueXP. And while you’re at it, check out this fun Day-in-the-Life video to learn more about the benefits of the BlueXP sustainability dashboard. https://www.netapp.com/bluexp/

Let's all work together to make sustainability easier and more impactful. Join us on this journey and see the difference you can make with the NetApp BlueXP sustainability dashboard.

Charles Hayes

Charles Hayes is a Product Marketing Manager focusing on hybrid cloud solutions. He’s a 20-year veteran of the storage industry, joining NetApp in September 2019. Before NetApp he spent years defining, developing, and marketing products and solutions for SimpleTech, Iomega, EMC and Lenovo. Charles is also a mediocre percussionist/guitarist, an old-school punk rock fan, and frequently claims he saw all the cool bands before they were cool.

View all Posts by Charles Hayes

Next Steps

Drift chat loading