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Introduction
IT decision-makers are putting environmental impact and governance in the strategic driving seat for digital infrastructure. While barriers like incompatible technology and a lack of clear benefits are slowing things down, intelligent features such as sustainably optimised network pathing and on-demand (Network-as-a-Service) technologies are helping CIOs meet business and ESG goals. As the threat of climate change becomes ever more pressing, Colt’s 2024 Digital Infrastructure Report focuses on the relationship between digital infrastructure and environmental impact and governance. How are CIOs and senior IT leaders balancing business and ESG goals, and how involved are they at the strategic level? How can digital infrastructure and the companies in the industry help meet environmental goals and what role can tech play?
Digital infrastructure is the backbone of most businesses, but the growth in this market comes with a cost, in the form of carbon emissions and environmental impact. Regulatory and public pressures are giving this issue growing urgency, and senior decision-makers are key in driving environmental impact and governance strategies to help tackle this question. Intelligent digital infrastructure is made up of a wide range of features such as virtualised network functions, adaptiveness to user demand, flexible bandwidth consumption/NaaS and Generative AI. These have a vital role in increasing network efficiency and reducing power consumption, along with the resulting carbon emissions.
It’s likely that carriers and telcos will be under increasing scrutiny from CIOs in coming years, and the industry will need to step up to the mark to enact genuine and comprehensive change. With this in mind, what part do senior IT decision-makers want their network suppliers to play in environmental impact and governance, and do they think providers are doing enough?
Methodology
For 2024 we expanded our survey group to over 1,500 IT decision-makers from ten countries and a variety of industries. These leaders work at businesses that employ between 2,500 and 15,000+ employees, with annual IT spending in the range of less than €100,000 to €500m and over.The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Colt Technology Services, among a sample of 1,501 CIOs (aged 18+) in UK, USA, Italy, France,Germany, The UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Benelux.The data was collected between 19 July 2024 and 5 August 2024. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
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