Routed: Being Committed to Sustainability Will Ultimately be a Non-Negotiable Attribute in Business

Offering enterprises across industries with the cloud infrastructure they need to excel, as well as value-added cloud services that Internet Services providers, telecommunications companies, and other partners can white label and offer to their own customers, Routed provides an integrated cloud platform and wide range of offerings that address enterprises’ cloud, recovery, and application needs. These include Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service, hybrid and multi-cloud deployments, storage, and a wide array of modern, custom cloud-native applications.

We recently connected with Andrew Cruise, managing director of Routed, to learn more about the company’s decision to join the VMware Zero Carbon Committed initiative and why he believes it’s crucial for cloud companies to spearhead efforts to decrease emissions. We also explored why sustainability is a personal issue for employees at Routed.

“Our company symbol is the baobob tree,” says Cruise. “As we proudly noted when we achieved the VMware Cloud Verified distinction that Routed empowers its partners and customers to grow from a solid and secure cloud infrastructure in much the same way the boabob tree provides for people in Africa’s savannah regions – giving them what they need while providing the roots needed for a strong foundation. We like to think of ourselves as the baobob of cloud infrastructure providers, but there’s another side to that analogy that’s particularly relevant today. Many of the largest baobob trees, the trees of life as they often called, are threatened by rising temperatures. It’s a stark reminder that we all need to take steps to address carbon emissions and climate change.”

Cruise notes that moving workloads to the cloud has been proven to reduce energy usage. But he cautions that cloud solutions and services providers still have an obligation to do as much as they can to reduce the carbon footprint of the data centers and other facilities that make the transition to off-premises possible.

“There is no question that the cloud is a game changer for most organizations, whether it’s because of the flexibility and agility it offers, or the benefits that come when they no longer have to manage costly legacy compute, storage, and networking infrastructure,” he adds. “Our view is that every business should be treating sustainability as a priority in every way they can. That view is increasingly shared by customers and partners.”

In addition to supporting a number of efforts under the larger umbrella of Environmental, Social, and Governance initiatives – including funding assistance for the Heathfield Primary School in Cape Town and Engeli, an effort that provides interest-free loans to black entrepreneurs – Routed was one of the first VMware partners to join with Teraco, it’s co-location provider, to decrease emissions. The largest and most interconnected data center platform in Africa, Teraco and the VMware Cloud Verified partners involved committed to using 50% renewable energy sources by 2027 and 100% renewable energy sources by 2030.

It’s a move that’s not only good for people and the planet, but also business. Cruise points out that carbon emissions will be a top purchasing criteria as sustainability continues to rise on the enterprise agenda. He also stresses that the need for sustainability is growing and gaining momentum.

“The foundation of our business is rooted in sustainability. From the products we offer to the services we provide, our aim is to provide the highest levels of business continuity responsibly. Moving workloads to the cloud has been proven to reduce enterprises’ energy usage and their carbon footprint by at least 30%. To be known as a company that is doing all it can to tread lightly carries real weight and matters greatly.”

Learn more about Routed and its partnership with VMware here.