Host in Ireland’s EcoSystem Report looks at the data center scene in Ireland

Alongside Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris, Ireland’s capital, Dublin, dominates the data center market in Europe. All the hyperscale cloud service providers have a significant presence in the region, either owned facilities, or through colocation arrangements with the main data center operators. Earlier this week Business Post reported plans for 21 new data centers in the greater Dublin area as the industry continues to expand.

Ireland has become an intrinsic home to hyperscale data centers and digital infrastructure. As a by-product, Ireland has become a hub of data center excellence and is now exporting services, skills and expertise around the world to support the growing cloud industry. The report identifies the common threads running throughout companies who work from and within Ireland – Ingenuity, Relentlessness, Integrity, Strength and History.

Sims Lifecycle Services (SLS) features in the ‘Own and Operate’ section of the report. This part includes the companies that keep data centers operating smoothly on a daily basis. These include enterprises offering utilities, facility management, security, consultancy, legal, marketing, HR, dismantling, reuse and recycling. Three additional segments look at organizations in the ‘Planning and Design’, ‘Build’ and ‘Equip’ parts of the supply chain.

The publication includes an interesting section looking at the history and growth of the data center industry in Ireland. Commentary around foreign direct investment (FDI) and the 2008 economic downturn sets the scene for the success story of the Irish data center industry in the last ten years. Optimizing on the knowledge and experience gained from working with hyperscale clients over that time, many companies are now looking beyond Ireland and exporting services and expertise abroad.

It’s clear that the rich and diverse set of companies featured form an important part of the Data Center Ecosystem in Ireland and the wider digital infrastructure landscape. Garry Connolly, Founder of Host in Ireland says, “A diverse group of partners all interact and collaborate to bring the most innovative ideas and products to the forefront and raise the playing field for the industry as a whole.”

Host in Ireland comprises over 50 member organizations operating in Ireland. Despite many partners being commercial competitors, they come together as a collective to promote the capabilities of Ireland as a center of data excellence and collaborate to raise the bar for the industry. A spirit of ‘co-opetition’ exists within the collective.

SLS has operated in Ireland for over 20 years, providing solutions to extend the life of data center and IT equipment. The IT asset disposition (ITAD), decommissioning and e-waste recycling services offered support the evolution of the cloud industry towards circularity. In 2021, SLS opened a new dedicated Circular Center in Ireland to further support the needs of our hyperscale, colocation, cloud and edge data center clients. To find out more about our Circular Center in Ireland please visit our website.

Host in Ireland’s Data Center Ecosystem report can be downloaded here.