How intelligent data saves threatened wildlife

Thousands of species are threatened

More than 48,600 species are threatened with extinction. This staggering figure represents a global crisis that demands a coordinated, data-driven response. From the depths of the oceans to the highest mountain peaks, understanding the health of our ecosystems is the first step toward saving them. For any conservation effort to succeed, it relies on vast amounts of reliable, accessible, and secure information.

This is the world of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For more than seven decades, this respected global organization has been the authority on the state of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.

Data demands of a planet in peril

As the urgency of the environmental crisis grew, so did the complexity of IUCN's data management needs. The organization's global footprint meant that data was being collected, analyzed, and shared across continents. This presented significant IT infrastructure challenges.

IUCN's primary goals were to ensure the constant availability, security, and integrity of the data that fuels its conservation projects. A system outage or data loss could disrupt vital research or delay urgent policy recommendations. Furthermore, as a leader in sustainability, IUCN was committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its own data centers and IT operations, ensuring its internal practices mirrored its external mission.

"For an organization like IUCN, data is our lifeblood," said Francois Jolles, Chief Information Officer for IUCN. "Ensuring its availability and integrity is paramount to our mission."

They needed an IT infrastructure that was not just powerful and reliable, but also sustainable and aligned with their core values.

Building sustainable, intelligent data

To meet these multifaceted demands, IUCN partnered with NetApp to engineer a robust and sustainable data infrastructure. The solution transformed IUCN's IT environment, creating an "Always On" ecosystem that ensures data is continuously available for its global operations.

This was achieved through a strategic implementation of several NetApp technologies across their two data centers.

• Continuous availability with SnapMirror ActiveSync: The cornerstone of the solution was NetApp SnapMirror ActiveSync. This technology provided synchronous replication and automatic failover between IUCN's data centers. This moved them from a traditional disaster recovery model to a continuous availability setup, guaranteeing that critical data and applications are always accessible, even in the event of a site failure.
• High-performance storage with NetApp AFF: To handle demanding workloads like SQL Server and ERP applications, IUCN deployed NetApp AFF all-flash storage systems. This provided the low latency and high throughput needed to deliver predictable, fast performance, ensuring that researchers and staff could access and process information without delay.
• Simplified data protection: With NetApp SnapShot^™ and SnapCenter^® integration, IUCN can create backups in seconds and restore data in minutes. This robust data protection ensures that the invaluable information gathered over decades remains secure and recoverable.
  
  

The impact

Better outcomes for nature and humanity

The benefits of the NetApp solution extend far beyond the data center. By ensuring their data is secure, available, and managed efficiently, IUCN empowers conservationists, informs policymakers, and ultimately protects the planet for everyone.

• Empowering conservationists on the ground: With reliable, fast access to data, field researchers and project managers can work more effectively. Whether they are tracking endangered species or analyzing environmental trends, they can trust that the information they need is always at their fingertips.
• Informing global policy: The data managed by IUCN is critical for shaping international environmental policy. By ensuring the integrity and availability of this data, NetApp's infrastructure supports the evidence-based advocacy that drives meaningful change at a global level.
• Aligning technology with sustainability: The efficiency of the NetApp solutions significantly reduced power consumption within IUCN's data centers. This lowered the organization's environmental footprint, demonstrating a powerful commitment to practicing the sustainability it preaches.
• Building trust with stakeholders: For member states, NGOs, and the public, the security and reliability of IUCN's data are paramount. The "Always On" infrastructure provides peace of mind that the world's most critical conservation data is protected against disruption.
  
  

What’s next

A partnership for a greener future

The collaboration between IUCN and NetApp is more than a technical implementation; it is a shared commitment to leveraging technology for the greater good. By providing a solid data foundation, NetApp has empowered IUCN to focus on its core mission.

"Sustainability is at the core of everything we do," Francois Jolles noted. "With NetApp's solutions, we've significantly reduced our power consumption and environmental footprint, aligning perfectly with our values."

Looking forward, IUCN plans to harness this powerful infrastructure to explore advanced technologies like AI for monitoring species and to deepen its cloud integration. With NetApp providing the agile and secure data fabric, IUCN is poised to continue leading the global conservation effort for decades to come. Together, they are proving that a resilient IT strategy is an essential component in the fight to protect our planet.