"Ireland is renowned as a technology hub, with some of the world’s most successful technology companies calling Dublin home," says Rachel Ryan, marketing manager of Interxion Dublin. What is often not spoken about, however, is the infrastructure required to support this industry, the services it provides and the data it holds. "The emergence of this industry has driven the growth of Ireland’s data centre sector. The two rely on each other to survive; as one grows so does the other," she says.
As the sector has developed, new players have entered the industry while long time providers have grown, including Interxion,who first arrived in Dublin in 2001. Ryan says that as part of a European network, Interxion had the talent and they knew how to support – what was then – a burgeoning sector. "Over time the business has grown to respond to new technology and trends within the sector, from cloud computing and hybrid storage to different sized racks and the ability to scale with no notice," says Ryan.
Why outsource?
From a singular data centre in 2001, Interxion has since opened it’s third data centre in 2017, mirroring the increase of data centres in general across Ireland. Interxion has the ability to tap into a European network of experts which has ensured that it has been at the forefront of new technology and legislation from GDPR to MiFID.
For most companies, managing their data is not a core function of their business but rather something they need to work reliably with constant access. Businesses need to know that they can access their data as soon as they need it. For the majority of enterprises, partnering with a data centre allows them access to industry leadership, takes away the risk and does not require them to have in-house expertise.
For enterprises of all sizes, coming to data centres for storage services, there are a number of factors which tend to drive the partner they chose: connectivity, security, no downtime, the ability to scale quickly, international access and crucially personal customer service. Despite perceptions of the data centre sector, customer service is often the key differentiator for enterprises choosing a data centre partner. Having the reassurance that their chosen partner will be available at the end of a phone line anytime brings businesses a significant level of reassurance.
Welltel
As an Irish company with 7,500 sites and growing, Welltel, Ireland's largest end-to-end communciations provider, a data centre partner in Dublin with international expertise.
We knew Interxion could deploy new services quickly to help our growth
As with many organisations selecting a data centre partner, Welltel conducted a tender process and met a variety of companies to see who could provide a solution to best meet their needs.
Each organisation has different priorities when it comes to selecting a data centre partner. For Welltel they needed a partner who could support its fast growth, guarantee connectivity and provide the international reach they need for customers and the business's own growth.
Damien O’Rourke, enterprise business development manager at Welltel Enterprise, wanted a data storage provider with “the ability to securely and privately host our IP office platform in Ireland." This, he said, was "a critical requirement for our enterprise customers.” Ross Murray, chief executive of Welltel, went on to say that they “chose Interxion as we knew they could deploy new services quickly to help our growth.” Welltel needed a partner that could hit the ground running, with the customer service they need as they grow.
As both the tech sector and data centre industry continue to grow, they will continue to lean on each other. Both must remember that the customer service which is at the corner stone of the relationship should not be forgotten.