With four high-performance data centers, including facilities in Cologne, Dusseldorf and two in Hamburg, plusserver is well known for its ability to address the most demanding data sovereignty needs in Germany and throughout Europe – a fact underscored earlier this year when it earned the VMware Sovereign Cloud distinction. The company is also a distinguished participant in the VMware Zero Carbon Committed initiative, an effort plusserver’s CPO Severin Braun says addresses another important component of an effective IT strategy.

“Customers are increasingly dealing with questions that focus not only on data management issues like efficiency, sovereignty and security, but also sustainability,” says Braun. “Migrating to cloud-based infrastructure saves 59 million tons of CO2 emissions per year and is the equivalent of taking 22 million cars off of the road, all while bringing unprecedented compute and networking power to bear in the fight to lower emissions. The cloud therefore is essential in efforts to achieve climate goals and to bring about greener technological transformations. That is why data issues and climate issues are increasingly related and intertwined.”

In addition to offering pluscloud VMware, a fully sovereign cloud based on VMware technologies and managed by a fully vetted team of German experts, plusserver also offers a full suite of public and hybrid cloud solutions and services, including ones that optimize the clouds of all of the major hyperscalers. The company’s comprehensive approach is relied on by government agencies and leading companies across industries, including those in highly regulated sectors like energy and utilities, financial services, and healthcare.

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“With an evolved understanding of everything from cloud-native to legacy architectures, we can provide comprehensive advice to our customers and meet them where they are in their IT modernization journey,” adds Braun. “Increasingly, in almost all cases, that journey includes addressing the carbon footprint of their own operations.”

He notes that due to the growing demand for energy, the scarcity of resources, and evolving legal requirements, every organization will have to answer questions on how to achieve the sustainable modernization of existing IT systems. That includes addressing concerns related to a singular topic of concern – on-premises data centers and the significant investments required to make them energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

“We see increasing pressure being placed on our customers to take action on sustainability measures,” he says. “With new regulations companies now have to focus not only on their own footprint, but also on inspecting their supply chains. This is apparent in the call for tenders from organizations that want to ensure that they work with partners who promote sustainable business practices. By using green cloud services, these companies can score twice, as demand-based usage from a partner who has invested in data centers powered by renewable sources is not only more sustainable, but also much more economical that operating a private on-premises facility.”

Helping customers achieve sustainability goals starts at home

In its quest to help its customers gain the benefits of a more sustainable, environmentally friendly operation, plusserver started with its own operation, an endeavor that resulted in the four state-of-the-art data centers the company operates. All of them are powered by 100% renewable energy sources.

“We have relied on green energy for a long time and continuously work to optimize our energy efficiency,” says Braun. “For instance, we use the waste heat from our data centers to heat adjacent office spaces, and we ensure that hardware can be reused as much as possible. We also tirelessly strive to increase the power density of our servers. We know that when our customers rely on our professional cloud solutions instead of operating their own data centers, it benefits the sustainability efforts of all parties involved.”

Braun is also quick to point out that every effort helps. As a company, plusserver also recycles across its operation, oversees the proper disposal of old systems, and encourages earth-friendly transportation, including the use of electric vehicles and bike leasing. It’s an effort Braun and the employees at plusserver take personally.

“The effort to radically lower carbon emissions is a responsibility of our generation for the next,” he says. “We must ensure that our actions today ensure a world worth living in for future generations. Digitalization is part of the solution, not – as is often claimed – the problem. I believe in the positive influence of technology on our sustainability efforts. With cloud solutions from professional data centers and through efforts like the VMware Zero Carbon Committed initiative, we can significantly contribute to this cause.”

Learn more about plusserver and its partnership with VMware here.