With artificial intelligence straining hardware supply, many have experienced rising cloud storage costs, but there’s an even easier way companies can cut costs without shifting vendors.

A new Crown Information Management report has revealed up to 50% of enterprise data sits unused, taking up valuable storage space when it could otherwise be archived.

According to the data, simply removing 100TB of cloud data could save the average AWS Standard storage customer $27,600 per year in fees – a not-so-insignificant sum.

Redundant, Obsolete and Trivial (ROT) information is to blame, here, often filling cloud storage spaces with duplicated, outdated or low-value data. ROT also clutters search results and slows auditing – three in five (62%) workers agree they spend too much time searching for information, per Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index.

With this in mind, a cleaner storage environment could also save workers valuable time, increasing output and improving cost-efficiency.

Not only will removing old data help companies cut costs and boost efficiency, but it could also serve as an important contribution to emission reductions. Electricity consumption for datacenters is set to more than double by 2030 at the current rate.

All of this being said, Crown acknowledged some data retention requirements that are ultimately adding to companies’ storage costs, GDPR being one of them. “Note any narrow legal exceptions, such as keeping records for public interest archiving, research, or statistics, and include the safeguards required,” the report details.

Crown also warns against over-digitising: “Don’t scan everything.” Though digitisation can reduce physical storage, it might not always be the best way to go about retaining information.

Finally, the report advises companies to destroy what they don’t need… responsibly. This refers to the proper recycling of both paper waste and e-waste.

“Most companies I consult with are paying to store and protect information they do not need,” EMEA Digital Director Tim Rushent concluded. “By removing ROT, organisations not only save money – they reduce risk, improve productivity, and shrink their carbon footprint.”