Artificial intelligence (AI) is spurring a wave of demand for data storage with Singapore leading the region, Seagate Technology Holdings said in a report on Wednesday.
The firm said in a statement that 94.5 percent of respondents reported increasing data storage needs, with 97 percent anticipating AI’s growth to further impact storage demand.
In fact, Singapore was one of the top three markets after Australia and the United States, to state that there has been an increase for data storage services at their company – with 56.7 percent strongly agreed.
Meanwhile, nearly 95 percent of respondents globally – and 90 percent in Singapore – are concerned about environmental impact, but only 3.3 percent prioritize it in purchasing decisions.
In Singapore, low environmental impact has negligible influence on Singaporean decisions related to data storage infrastructure or equipment purchase.
According to the study, top barriers in driving sustainability at data centers globally, including high energy consumption (53.5 percent), raw material requirements (49.5 percent), physical space constraints (45.5 percent), infrastructure costs (28.5 percent), and acquisition costs (27 percent).
In Singapore, respondents cited physical space constraints (70 percent) as the most significant barrier – mirroring the concern around a lack of electricity sources (70 percent).
The study also showed disconnect in life cycle management as 92.2 percent acknowledge the importance of extending the life cycle of storage equipment, but only 15.5 percent consider it a top purchasing factor.
Meanwhile, Singapore saw a much lower number of 10 percent prioritizing products that support a longer life cycle in their purchasing decisions – despite 93.4 percent acknowledging its importance.
The “Decarbonizing Data” report also highlighted the growing sustainability challenges facing data center as enterprises scale to meet the demands of AI.
Cited Goldman Sachs Research, the statement forecasts global power demand from data center will increase by as much as 165 percent by 2030, compared with 2023.
Seagate’s new report reveals that energy usage is now a top concern for 53.5 percent of business leaders.
The rising data volumes, slowing power efficiency gains, and increasing AI adoption are putting pressure on organisations to manage carbon emissions, infrastructure expansion, and total cost of ownership (TCO) – all at once.
“Data centers are under intense scrutiny – not only because they support modern AI workloads, but because they are becoming one of the most energy-intensive sectors of the digital economy,
“This calls for a fundamental shift in how we think about data infrastructure – not as a trade-off between cost and sustainability, but as an opportunity to optimize for both,” said Jason Feist, senior vice president of cloud marketing, Seagate.
It is noted that as organizations expand their data capabilities, they face three options: improve efficiency within existing infrastructure, expand data centre footprint, or migrate workloads to the cloud.
Each option involves trade-offs between cost, carbon, and control, indicating that total cost of ownership and sustainability can be compatible goals.
Decisions on energy consumption, space utilization, raw material use, and infrastructure investment now impact both business performance and environmental outcomes.
To support the industry in navigating this shift, the “Decarbonizing Data” report outlines three strategic pillars for building a more sustainable data future: technological innovation, commitment to life cycle extension and circularity and share accountability across the ecosystem.
“Sustainability cannot be solved in isolation. A holistic approach spanning infrastructure, life cycle management, and industry-wide accountability could ensure that the growth of AI and data center operations does not come at the expense of the environment,” he added.