A number of big players in the data center industry have recently built or expanded facilities in Ireland, creating a larger service footprint in the region. The area has a number of attractive benefits for data center designers and operators that are encouraging continued growth in the country.
Ireland Offers Data Center Benefits
Citadel100, a data center services organization that also boasts a client base in the country, noted several aspects that make Ireland attractive for the industry. A main advantage of the area is the data center tax incentives offered, including a 12.5 percent headline corporation tax rate, which is one of the lowest in the sector.
Additionally, the area provides a low-risk, stable environment for data center hosting, including political and economic security. Ireland also has a mild climate and low instance of natural or man-made disasters.
“Critically, it has plenty of electrical power and large, expanding data center space, located outside vulnerable city centre areas,” Citadel100 noted.
Furthermore, approximately 40 percent of the country’s population between 25 and 34 has a university degree, many of which specialized in Information Technology. This creates an established, knowledgeable workforce that data center organizations can draw upon for their initiatives in the area.
In all, Ireland’s vast resources and benefits available for those in the data center industry make it advantageous for projects located there. Forbes recognized these perks, naming the region the “Best country for business” in 2013.
Google’s Dublin Data Center
One of several technology giants with facilities in Ireland is Google, which boasts a €75 million, or more than $100 million, data center. The structure was formerly an industrial warehouse that the company converted. The Dublin data center features a special advanced air-cooling system that benefits from the region’s natural climate to reduce the facility’s environmental footprint and improve overall data center sustainability.
Google stated that the city has “the right combination of energy infrastructure, developable land, and available workforce,” which created the right environment for their investment.
Microsoft Announces Plans to Expand Dublin Data Center
Another top technology company, Microsoft, announced in December that they plan to invest €170 million, or more than $230 million, to grow its service footprint in several areas, including Europe, the Middle East and Africa. A portion of this capital will be put toward an expansion of its facility in Dublin, the second time that data center has been modified. The Irish Times reported that the construction will add 15,700 square meters, or more than 168,000 square feet, to the structure’s usable floor space. The company stated that this growth will serve to support increasing cloud service demands from businesses and consumers in the area.
Eamon Gilmore, Tanaiste and Irish Labor Party politician, said the country has recently been working on a strategy to become the top choice in the world for data center and cloud services.
“Microsoft contributed greatly to this strategy when it chose Ireland as the home for its first mega data center outside of the United States,” Gilmore said. “We realized that the factors that influenced that decision were key differentiators that could also attract further investors.”
Eircom Proposes Largest Ireland Data Center
Additionally, Eircom recently announced plans for an ambitious data center project in Dublin, which would cost as much as €200 million, or more than $272 million. According to The Independent, the facility would be built in two phases and would constitute the largest Dublin data center ever established once completed.
The company’s plans include constructing a two-story, 473,000 square foot data center, as well as another two-story, 46,000 square foot facility for office space. Eircom put in a planning application at the beginning of the year and is currently awaiting approval.
