F E A T U R E

The digital port of the Mediterranean

According to the report , Barcelona has historically not been a destination for data centre investments – by 2022 , the capacity installed in data centres in the city represented roughly one-third of that available in Milan , and less than half of that in Marseille . However , by 2025 , installed capacity in data centres is expected to reach 173MW , and the multiplier effect of this investment on the region ’ s GDP would reach over € 7 billion and generate more than 2,200 jobs .

" DE-CIX bet on Barcelona two and a half years ago because we believe in the city ' s bright digital future ,” said Theresa Bobis , Regional Director Southern Europe , DE-CIX . “ Now we see the ecosystem is evolving step by step as we have already seen in other metropolises around the world . Thanks to its powerful economy and digital industry , its data traffic is configured as a balanced combination of the different players of the digital infrastructure : ISP , content , enterprises , etc ."

The risk of lagging behind

The key theme throughout this research is that Irish enterprises risk being left behind if they don ’ t explore new technologies . Understandably , it ’ s a challenging feat when operators and partners are sceptical of investing in the region – the data centre moratorium implemented by EirGrid remains in effect , potentially jeopardising the future of Irish businesses . According to The Irish Times , Digital Infrastructure Ireland ( DII ) notes that the ongoing uncertainty is likely driving investment to other European markets . infrastructure isn ’ t up to global speed , organisations may look to capitalise elsewhere , emphasising the notion that Ireland is trailing its global counterparts .

“ Many Irish organisations are at risk of their IT infrastructure becoming unfit for purpose if they don ’ t catch up with the rest of the world in the adoption of hybrid IT ,” said Séamus Dunne , Managing Director Digital Realty Ireland & UK . “ After several years of economic uncertainty , green shoots of recovery in the Irish market are starting to show . But companies can ’ t leave themselves in a position where their IT infrastructure means they ’ re unable to drive efficiencies and embrace new technologies .

“ The shift is happening , slowly , and it ’ s clear that businesses now have a better understanding of their overall IT strategy ,

What ’ s next ?

Comparing the two , it ’ s evident that Barcelona ’ s proactive development strategy is paying off . But there is also room for improvement despite this success . Considering the saturation of companies and talent specialising in digital technologies in Barcelona , the city needs to continue to attract data centres and telecommunications networks to make the digital port a priority strategy , the Mediterranean report said .

On the other hand , Ireland ’ s cautionary stance could risk the outside support for businesses to deliver their IT strategies . “ At times of increasing adoption of AI , exponential data growth and expanding

Despite this , two years after the inaugural report by Digital Realty and HPE , the percentage of Irish-headquartered businesses unaware of their organisation ' s IT infrastructure has nearly halved to 10 %. It also acknowledges a slight increase ( 45 % to 51 %) in the number of organisations planning to migrate to a hybrid IT environment to leverage both on-premises systems and off-premises cloud / hosted resources .

The demand for services and improved operations is there , but if the

www . intelligentdatacentres . com 39