As the global data center market grows increasingly competitive, businesses are constantly looking for the ideal location to construct and operate their new facilities. In recent years, Ireland has emerged as one of the top areas for new data center construction.
Data traffic from social networks, online gaming sites, cloud services, banking and mobile content have all been sent from Ireland to the world’s major markets for years now, and tech giants like Google, Amazon and Microsoft have all recently built Dublin data centers. Companies are increasingly realizing that Ireland offers an ideal combination of features for the creation of an international computing facility. The country provides a variety of benefits for data center providers, including access to competitive energy, reliable connectivity and the valuable European market. An available pool of highly skilled, English-speaking IT professionals and low-latency, high-speed links to the U.S., U.K. and E.U are also desirable. The Ireland data center market also boasts an abundance of Tier 1 carriers, as well as a network of dark fiber cables widely available to major markets on demand.
Ireland Offers Environmental, Financial Incentives
Constructing a facility in Ireland is also appealing to those interested in data center sustainability, as the country has the lowest need for rack cooling or air conditioning in the world due to its naturally cool climate. Being an island, Ireland is deeply concerned with environmental impact, and this carries over into data center construction. The Electricity Supply Board has pledged $28 billion in funding towards the creation of efficient and renewable energy alternatives, and the country is working towards significantly lowering its carbon emissions. Ireland’s energy grid will be powered by 40 percent renewable sources by 2020 and will be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2035, making the country ideal for any providers looking to increase data center sustainability.
One factor all businesses look for when beginning new investments is a favorable economic environment. Ireland offers an open and flexible economy, as well as attractive data center tax incentives. The country has famously favorable tax conditions for corporations, with a 12.5 percent corporate tax and 25 percent tax credits available for companies that undertake qualifying research and development.
Jason O’Conaill, head of data centers for Irish telecom Eircom, noted that a big reason Ireland has become a popular site for data center creation is the cluster effect. Whenever an industry begins to see a cluster emerge, that location begins to appear as a safe location to locate a business. This suggests that the next wave of investments from tech, cloud and data center providers will look even more favorably on Ireland.
