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Cloud economics work for Ireland, says Equinix managing director Maurice Mortell.
The cloud economy is growing in Ireland, with more than 25pc of IT budgets going to cloud while medium to large enterprises spend on average €190,000 on cloud systems annually.
A study of senior IT decision-makers by data centre giant Equinix found that 85pc of businesses are deploying cloud technology while more than half (53pc) have plans to increase deployment in the next year.
‘Ireland has the benefit of one of the densest concentration of data centres’
– MAURICE MORTELL
Security risks, however, remain a key obstacle, with 60pc of decision-makers citing it as a top barrier for their organisation. Other roadblocks were fears of loss and control of data (50pc) and high costs of deployment (38pc).
The looming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) deadline of May 2018 is also giving IT experts reason to pause for thought, especially over where their data is located. A substantial 52pc said that legal jurisdiction of where their data resides always affects their decisions.
Speaking with Siliconrepublic.com, Equinix’s managing director for Ireland and emerging markets, Maurice Mortell, said that 49pc of Irish businesses are adopting hybrid cloud solutions.
“It’s cost-effective and provides peace of mind for the storage of mission-critical data.
“Businesses’ needs for cloud vary. Our research found that businesses are using it for everything from email and CRM, to business continuity and software testing.”
Bursting cloud economics
Maurice Mortell, managing director of Equinix Ireland and emerging markets. Image: John Ohle
Mortell said that Dublin is becoming an epicentre for the cloud economy.
“Cloud economics works favourably for Ireland and is currently in a growth phase,” Mortell said.
“While cloud has been more favourably adopted in markets across Scandinavia – which leads cloud adoption across Europe – those markets are also relatively mature, so their year-on-year growth is relatively slower compared to growth markets like Ireland. Ireland has the benefit of one of the densest concentration of data centres.
“Given that most enterprises opt for hybrid cloud solutions, the presence of multiple data centres is key to drive cloud adoption.
“Given the favourable cloud market in Ireland, as well as its attractive tax structure to further attract enterprises, we expect the market in Dublin to continue in the growth phase though 2020 – which is likely to drive our growth, our ecosystem, as well as our interconnections in the market as well.”
The silver lining
However, it is not all sunshine for the Irish cloud market. Infrastructure issues, especially in the ares of fibre and electricity, are top of mind and the data centre industry is eagerly awaiting developments around the North-South interconnector.
For Equinix, which recently unveiled its new Cloud Exchange for businesses that need access to multiple cloud service providers, Ireland is still in an advanced position thanks to the high density of data centres.
“The launch of Equinix Cloud Exchange adds another layer of access for enterprise customers who want the optionality of choosing multiple providers, while not losing performance or security for critical data and job loads.
“The recent announcements of further investments in subsea cables including IFC-1 and Aqua Comms, further enhances Ireland as a location of choice for cloud providers and adoption,” Mortell added.
