Digital Realty expands Dublin data centre as it readies itself for multibillion-Euro tech boom

• Digital Realty launches upgraded €70 million facility in Clonshaugh, Dublin as part of Ireland’s growing data centre sector which has contributed €7.13 billion to Ireland’s economy in the last decade
• The opening expands Digital Realty’s PlatformDIGITAL™ offering in Europe
• Dublin currently 39th out of 60 global Digital Capitals Index, but set to rise as AI, IoT, Blockchain and 5G impact
• Digital Realty predicts that this emerging tech boom, driven by AI, IoT, Blockchain and 5G will add an additional €6.37 billion to Dublin’s economy by 2029

DUBLIN – Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced today the official opening of its Clonshaugh data centre, the latest facility in its portfolio of data centres in Dublin, Ireland.

The data centre, which represents a €70 million investment, follows the company’s previous €200 million investment in the Dublin data centre market, culminating in the opening of its Profile Park campus last May. The new Clonshaugh facility supports the further growth of Dublin’s technology ecosystem, which is predicted to experience a multibillion-euro technology boom over the next decade, according to a study commissioned by Digital Realty and conducted by Development Economics, an economic consultancy providing robust research for clients ranging from Barclays to Facebook.

Dublin to thrive as AI, IoT, Blockchain and 5G arrive
The Digital Realty-commissioned study – Digital Capitals Dublin Report – examines the value that innovative technologies will deliver to the city’s economy over the next decade through new jobs, businesses, industries and efficiencies in public services.

Dublin ranks 39th out of the 60 digital cities studied by Development Economics. However, when adjusted for population size, Dublin’s ranking improves by 31 places, putting the city in 8th place overall. The report predicts that Dublin will climb four places higher by 2029, due to the rapid growth of the technology sector in the city.

The report focuses on four of the most widely discussed technology innovations as key drivers for this growth: Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and 5G.

Table 1: Dublin – contribution of four digital technologies: 2019 (€UR, 2019 prices), ‘Digital Capitals Dublin Report’

These four innovative technologies added approximately €1.23 billion to Dublin’s economy in 2019, with IoT contributing the most at €630 million (51% of the total) primarily through improvements in operational efficiencies.

AI is the second most impactful with an estimated contribution of €390 million in 2019 (32% of the total) through applications such as those that combat money laundering. Blockchain generated approximately €180 million in value (17%), and 5G, still in its early stages, added an additional €30 million (2%).

2029 growth predictions
Digital Realty’s investment in its new Clonshaugh facility is designed to underpin the growing importance of these data-led technologies to Dublin’s economy, by ensuring the city’s businesses have a digital-ready infrastructure to adopt and deliver on complex technology. Through Digital Realty’s PlatformDIGITAL™, customers will be able to connect their entire digital ecosystem together with one data centre provider while simultaneously solving complexities such as increased demand, global coverage and additional capacity requirements.

By 2029, these new technologies are primed to contribute even more growth, with an estimated €6.37 billion added to Dublin’s economy, €5.14 billion more than in 2019.

Table 2: Dublin – contribution of four digital technologies: 2029 (€EUR, 2019 prices), ‘Digital Capitals Dublin Report’. NOTE: Some columns or row totals may not sum exactly due to rounding of decimals

By 2029 the most growth is expected to come from 5G, with its economic contribution to Dublin’s economy set to increase by approximately 1,000% over the next decade, from €30 million in 2019 to €1.12 billion in 2029, as 5G becomes the foundation for the deployment of many other innovative, data-led technologies.

AI is predicted to be the biggest driver with an estimated 46% increase in value. IoT is predicted to contribute a further 22%.

“Over the past few years, Dublin has firmly cemented itself as the data centre capital of Europe and our investment in Clonshaugh comes as a direct result of the increased demand we’re seeing there,” says Jeff Tapley, EMEA Managing Director, Digital Realty.

“Dublin is on the cusp of a technology revolution that could drive substantial economic growth for the city for years to come. However, in order for this to become a reality, businesses need to ensure that they’re investing in secure digital infrastructure that’s both flexible and adaptable. Businesses can rely on our secure platform to connect to and deliver the critical technology they need to succeed, from AI to IoT, from one city and country to anywhere in the world in order to efficiently scale and grow.”

“This latest investment from Digital Realty shows that Ireland is optimally placed to capitalise on transformative technologies and data driving the Industrial Revolution 4.0 including secure data that will require a robust data centre infrastructure,” says Garry Connolly, Founder and President, Host in Ireland.

Notes to Editors

About Digital Realty
Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of customers across the Americas, EMEA and APAC, ranging from cloud and information technology services, communications and social networking to financial services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare and consumer products. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media & Industry Analyst Relations
Marc Musgrove
Digital Realty
+1 (415) 508-2812
[email protected]

Media Enquiries
Cyril Moloney
Teneo PR
+353 (0)860479462
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Investor Relations
John Stewart
Digital Realty
+1 (415) 738-6500
[email protected]

Digital Capitals Dublin Report Methodology
Research was undertaken by Development Economics, an economic consultancy providing highly robust research, market analysis and advice for private and public sector clients. Development Economics clients include Barclays, NFU, RBS and Facebook.

Development Economics’ approach to the study involved several key steps.

First, a desk-based review was undertaken focusing on the evidence regarding the business benefits of digital technology. The review also identified potential sources of the latest available data covering international business and economic datasets.

Second, Development Economics used publicly available economic, demographic and business datasets to identify and benchmark global cities for comparative review.

Third, a set of potential digital economy indicators was proposed and agreed with Digital Realty. We selected ten indicators covering the following factors:

• The overall size of the city-level economy
• The activity scale of companies operating in data-intensive business sectors and the rate of adoption of digital technology among other businesses
• The scale of consumer demand for data and digital applications
• The presence of a leading university or universities in cities
• The quality of telecommunications infrastructure
• The proportion of workforce with advanced data skills
• The stability of the local political environment, levels of crime and other metrics of city governance
• Quality of life indicators, such as the quality of health, public education, the efficiency of public transport and environmental indicators
• Support for the data sector such as open data policies

Publicly available datasets, sourced from NGO and governmental groups, were used for each of the ten indicators and fed into a set of recognized models for the weighting of economic impact.

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