Jobs created as Data Electronics opens €25m data centre


20 Apr 2009

At least 10 jobs are to come on stream as Data Electronics opens its new west Dublin data centre, which represents a capital investment of over €25m.

The new 40,000 sq ft data centre is located in North West Business Park in Ballycoolin.

Data Electronics has been in operation for 30 years, and is Ireland’s longest-serving data centre provider.

The company said the new data centre will eventually have an overall capacity of over 100,000 sq ft. It will double Data Electronics’ workforce from 55 employees today to over 100 when the final phase is completed in the next three to five years.

In addition to this, the site’s green credentials will achieve a power usage efficiency rating of 40pc and will save over €550,000 annually following the introduction of a number of energy-saving technology and environmentally friendly initiatives.

“This expansion highlights the ever-increasing demand by businesses to support and service their IT infrastructure needs to provide more scalable, reliable and secure environments at substantial cost savings, a factor which is particularly important in the current economic climate,” the company’s chief executive Maurice Mortell (pictured) said.

“Data Electronics remains committed to expansion, as demanded by our growing customer base, and we are confident that the new site in Ballycoolin will continue to drive international business into Ireland, serving the needs of our new customers to the highest standards,” Mortell added.

The data centre will run on VMware on its production servers, meaning that the number of actual servers will be reduced due to virtualisation. The facility will be opened on a phased basis to ensure energy will be used to service a particular area, rather than the whole premises.

Data Electronics also plans to take regular power readings across all areas of the data centre to determine progress and areas of improvement.

Recently, Data Electronics was one of 25 indigenous Irish companies to receive the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Award for its remarkable achievements and sustained growth and success in the past 12 months.

“Data Electronics’ substantial investment will achieve the twin objectives of improving competitiveness and improving environmental sustainability,” said the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD, who opened the new operation today.

“This investment and investments of a similar nature will yield long-term benefits for Ireland,” Minister Lenihan added.

By John Kennedy

Pictured: Maurice Mortell, chief executive, Data Electronics