ServiceNow confirms new data centre for Dublin in wake of Brexit

27 Jul 2020

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ServiceNow has confirmed that it is developing two new data centre facilities in Europe, including one in Dublin.

The effects of Brexit continue to seen in the world of cloud infrastructure, with the news that US-based ServiceNow is opening two new data centres at locations in Dublin and Newport in the UK.

The California-headquartered digital workflow company said these new centres will be part of two new pairings for the hosting of customer services. This includes a pairing of facilities in Amsterdam and Dublin for its EU customers, and a UK pairing with facilities in London and Newport.

The new Amsterdam and Dublin data centre pair went live earlier this month, while the London and Newport pair is expected to go live imminently. This brings the number of ServiceNow data centre pairs globally to 11, with facilities spanning five continents.

Mark Cockerill, ServiceNow’s vice-president for legal and head of global privacy, said the new data centres will provide further infrastructure in “an ever-changing global and European landscape”.

‘Brexit seems a forgotten event now’

“Some customers, especially in public sector, have been more cautious in their adoption of cloud technologies owing to a fear of the unknown, particularly in a post-Brexit Europe,” Cockerill added.

“These new facilities will enable us to better service those organisations, including our local Irish customers, addressing their requirements and further engendering their trust and comfort.”

Roy Illsley, chief analyst for enterprise IT at consultancy firm Omdia, commented on the new centres: “Brexit seems a forgotten event now that Covid-19 has become the focus of attention globally, but in both scenarios, the need for resilient cloud-based geographic capacity is of paramount importance.

“By opening two new data centres, one in Dublin as the twin for Amsterdam and the other in Newport [as] the twin for London, any concerns around a post-Brexit world have been answered for ServiceNow customers.”

Last year, freelancing website Upwork released a quarterly index of the most popular skills in the US freelance job market, with ServiceNow coming in first place.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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