The expansion in Ireland builds on two previous expansions of the data centre which first opened in Ireland in 2009 following an initial €500m investment
Microsoft is embarking on a major $2bn data centre expansion in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands that will bring the company’s overall investment in its Dublin data centre facilities to $1bn.
The new data centre facilities will serve as cloud computing hubs for Microsoft’s European customers.
Microsoft has already invested $800m in its European data centre in Dublin and this is understood to be the third of three phases of the centre’s construction.
The new facility in Dublin will be the equivalent of three football fields, approximately 150,000 sq ft.
Microsoft plans to grow the cloud at scale
“At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.
“By expanding our data centre regions in the UK, Netherlands and Ireland we aim to give local businesses and organisations of all sizes the transformative technology they need to seize new global growth,” Nadella added.
Microsoft announced the completion of the most recent expansion of its Ireland site and that its data centre facility in Middenmeer, the Netherlands, is now operational. The expansion in Ireland builds on two previous expansions of the data centre, which first opened in Ireland in 2009 following an initial €500m investment.
‘In Ireland we have major advantages in this area – a moderate climate, the presence already of many of the biggest ICT companies in the world, and a highly-skilled workforce in this area – and we have put in place a range of measures to attract more investments in this area’
– MINISTER RICHARD BRUTON TD
Both Ireland and the Netherlands serve as hubs for Microsoft cloud services, including Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online, and will provide additional capacity for customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Each location is built using the latest technology improvements to significantly reduce water, power and energy use.
“We are delighted to share details of further expansion of the Irish-based data centre during our year of celebrations marking our 30th anniversary of investing in Ireland,” Microsoft Ireland managing director Cathriona Hallahan said.
The investment is the latest phase in a $15bn Microsoft cloud infrastructure strategy that will enable it to provide the computer resources to support higher level services like advanced analytics, media, services, internet of things and big data.
The investment in Ireland is supported by the Department of Jobs through IDA Ireland.
Speaking today, Minister Bruton said: “Big data is a key sector which we have targeted as part of our Action Plan for Jobs. In Ireland we have major advantages in this area which we in Government are determined to take full advantage of – a moderate climate, the presence already of many of the biggest ICT companies in the world, and a highly-skilled workforce in this area – and we have put in place a range of measures to attract more investments in this area.
“Today’s announcement that Microsoft has expanded its data infrastructure in Ireland is a great boost, and I look forward to continuing to work with Cathriona Hallahan and the team in the future,” Bruton said.
IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan added: “Ireland is global technology hub of choice when it comes to attracting the strategic business activities of ICT companies. Data centre activity in Ireland continues to thrive and Ireland is well positioned to win more investment in this area.”
Microsoft image via Shutterstock
