Not just saying what you mean, showing it.
When you hear people talk about storing data in the cloud, what they’re really talking about is storing it in a datacenter. These massive structures are roughly the size of a city block, and consume energy at even greater rates. The challenge is, the more datacenters the world needs, the more power, water, and land we consume to operate them. Microsoft had an idea to change that, but a PowerPoint wasn’t going to cut it.
Turning paradox into parable
White Rhino was asked to help explain the paradox of scaling computing power to fuel digital transformation – and provide a visual answer to a complex question: What if, instead of working against nature, datacenters could work with nature to renew, replenish, and revitalize local ecosystems – giving back much more than they take?
Making the future tangible
The final result speaks for itself. The impact on internal stakeholders was profound – turning previous skeptics into the program’s biggest champions.
Behavioral key
Our B2Me research revealed that Microsoft stakeholders may be overwhelmed by the vague idea of sustainability, and the role of datacenters in our technology isn’t widely understood. With that in mind, we knew our story needed to focus on a more personal connection (the devices we use every day) and their direct impact on the planet.
This is going to be something we invest in. Give me two weeks and I will find you the money. This is what the future looks like.
– Senior Microsoft VP
Results
300%
increase in datacenter innovation budget
180°
change toward a Regenerative Vision of the future among datacenter engineering team
– JoAnn Garbin, Author, The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft
