IBM Storage Insights is a SaaS-based AIOps observability platform for managing and optimizing storage infrastructure. It offers real-time analytics, performance monitoring, and capacity planning for IBM and select non-IBM systems. AI-driven insights predict issues, streamline support, and enhances resource efficiency. Available in free and Pro versions for scalable, cost-effective solutions.

Quick read on What is IBM Storage Insights ?

🌱 Track Your Storage Emissions in Real Time and Drive Sustainability.

IBM Storage Insights Pro now offers real-time visibility into your storage infrastructure’s carbon footprint, helping you monitor emissions and make smarter, sustainable decisions—balancing performance with environmental impact. This capability is increasingly important as data centers, which already consume about 1–2% of global electricity, continue to grow with digital transformation. Since storage systems are a major contributor to this energy use, tracking carbon emission metrics is essential for organizations aiming to reduce their environmental impact.

📊 What’s New in IBM Storage Insights?

Starting April 7, 2025, IBM Storage Insights Pro includes a new Environment Dashboard that tracks Carbon emissions using the following values :

• Carbon Emission Factor (CEF) – How clean your electricity is (measured in kgCO₂e per kWh).

• Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) – A measure of data center energy efficiency.

These two values are used to calculate your storage systems’ carbon emissions.

🔍 Simple Carbon Emission Formula

To calculate emissions, SI uses this formula:

Carbon Emissions = Power Usage × PUE × CEF

Flexible Configuration:

Environment metrics can be set at three levels—default, location, and country—with a clear precedence for calculations:

• Location-specific values (highest priority, manually set by Admins).

• Country-specific values (sourced from the Carbon Database Initiative for CEF, default PUE of 1.5).

• Default values (CEF: 0.25 kgCO₂e/kWh, PUE: 1.5).

Let's break it down with an example:

If a storage system consumes 0.05 kWh, and your environment has a PUE of 1.5 and a CEF of 0.25 kgCO₂e/kWh, your carbon footprint is: 0.05 × 1.5 × 0.25 = 0.01875 kg CO₂e

This simple equation allows you to see, manage, and optimize your environmental impact in real time.

👥 Who Can Benefit?

Environment Metrics are available for:

• IBM Storage Virtualize systems (version 8.6.2.0 or later) connected via Call Home with cloud services.

• DS8000 storage systems (firmware version 7.7.2.0 or later).

💡Why This Matters to Us

IBM Storage Insights empowers smarter, greener storage by tracking energy use and emissions. With tools like CEF and PUE adjustments, organisations can cut costs and carbon—supporting performance and net-zero goals.

🚀 Get Started Today.

Ready to take control of your storage environment's carbon footprint?

The Overview Dashboard provides a view of all sustainability charts, including aggregated carbon footprint, power consumption, and temperature of all supported storage systems over the past 7 days. 
The expanded view of each widget allows you to view trends for up to one year.

Also offers quick access to detailed analysis charts for the top 5 devices based on sustainability metrics. By default, the dashboard selects two sustainability metrics for analysis.

• Explore: Settings > Environment Metrics

• Monitor: Use the Overview Dashboard

Whether you're an IT admin optimising a single data center or a sustainability officer overseeing a global operation, With IBM Storage Insights, you’ve got what you need to drive real change.

We have a demo instance available for anyone who wants to give it a try - https://demo.insights.ibm.com

References:

IBM Storage Insights documentation - https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/storage-insights

IBM Storage Insights registration page - https://www.ibm.com/products/storage-insights

Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@StorageGuru