- Reducing 100TB can save AWS customers $27,600 per year in storage.
- Storage costs are rising as data centers experience increased demand
- 62% of employees spend too much time searching for information
As AI overwhelms hardware inventory, many are facing rising cloud storage costs, but there’s an even easier way for businesses to cut costs without switching providers.
A new report from Crown Information Management shows that up to 50% of corporate data goes unused, taking up valuable storage space that could otherwise be archived.
According to the data, the average AWS standard storage customer could save $27,600 per year in costs simply by removing 100 TB of data in the cloud, a significant amount.
Unused data can cost you thousands of dollars
This is due to redundant, obsolete and trivial (ROT) information, which often fills cloud storage spaces with duplicate, outdated or low-value data. RED also distorts search results and slows review: Three in five employees (62%) agree they spend too much time searching for information, according to Microsoft’s 2023 Workplace Trends Index.
With this in mind, a cleaner warehouse environment can also save valuable staff time, increase production and improve profitability.
Erasing old data not only helps companies reduce costs and increase efficiency, but can also contribute significantly to reducing emissions. Current electricity consumption in data centers is expected to more than double by 2030.
With this in mind, Crown has identified a number of data storage requirements that ultimately increase companies’ storage costs, including GDPR. “Take into account any limited statutory exceptions, such as record keeping for archival, research or statistics in the public interest, and include appropriate safeguards,” the report said.
Crown also warns against excessive scanning: “Don’t scan everything.” Digitization can reduce physical storage space, but it is not always the best method for storing information.
Finally, the report advises companies to responsibly dispose of anything they don’t need. It refers to the correct recycling of used paper and electronic waste.
“Most companies I consult with are paying to store and protect information they don’t need,” concludes Tim Rushent, Chief Digital Officer, EMEA. “By eliminating ROT, companies not only save money, but also reduce risk, improve productivity and reduce their environmental footprint.”