Nitro Software Inc. began November with the announcement that it will be opening an Ireland data center within the next year.
Last year, Nitro broadened its service offerings to include its Nitro Cloud program, which provides cloud-based document services. At the same time, the company opened an office in Dublin, suggesting plans to open a facility in the country have been in the works for some time now.
John O'Keeffe, vice president of Nitro's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said that a growing amount of the company's business has been coming from Europe in recent years, with between 35 and 40 percent of sales originating from the region. In 2013, both the Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks started using the company's products and Nitro officials believed it was an opportune time to move data center operations to the country.
Nitro recently raised $15 million from investment firm Battery Ventures during a round of series B fundraising. The additional money brings Nitro's total funding to $21.6 million, allowing it to invest in the Dublin data center and accelerate hiring for its operations in Ireland. Nitro already employs 30 people in Dublin and expects to hire another 120 to 170 people over the next three years.
The Dublin data center will be the company's first facility outside the U.S. A growing number of service providers are establishing operations in Ireland as the country has begun offering some of the best data center tax incentives in the region. The area also provides a stable political and economic climate and access to reliable energy and fiber connections, making it an ideal location for growing companies to expand their data center operations.
