Microsoft to Expand its Dublin Data Centre

Dublin, February 23, 2012, Microsoft today announced that it is investing an additional US$130 million to expand its data centre located in Dublin, Ireland. The expansion is driven by increased demand for Microsoft’s cloud services. This investment builds on the original $500m investment Microsoft made in the Dublin data centre, which has been operational since July 2009, serving customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

During a visit to Dublin, Peter Klein, Chief Financial Officer, Microsoft Corporation said “This investment shows where we are placing our bets for the future. As customers embrace Microsoft cloud services such as Office 365, Windows Live, Xbox Live, Bing and the Windows Azure platform, we are investing in regional cloud infrastructure to meet their needs.”

“We are seeing increasing numbers of European businesses and consumers adopting Microsoft’s cloud services, and we are continuing to build new infrastructure and services in order to meet current and future demands. From small businesses to large enterprises and governments, we are experiencing increased momentum where organizations are starting to really embrace the full potential of cloud computing to help them transform their business,” says Stephen McGibbon, chief technology officer, Microsoft EMEA.

The Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach), Mr. Enda Kenny said: “We welcome this significant announcement from Microsoft as Ireland continues to regain its international reputation for investment and business. Now central to our Action Plan on Jobs we are delighted that our strategy to become the country of choice for data centres is coming to fruition. We very much recognise the role that cloud computing can play in transforming our public sector as well as being a catalyst for economic growth.” Recent figures by the Center for Economics and Business Research show that cloud could contribute €763 billion to the European economy over the next five years.

Microsoft’s commitment to foster the potential of cloud computing for organisations in the public and private sector in Europe extends far beyond the investment in data centres and related services. The company has recently invested €5.3 million in an European Cloud & Interoperability Center in Brussels, designed to drive innovation and economic growth across Europe. For more information on Cloud investments and customers in the cloud in Europe, please visit www.microsoft.eu.

This expansion will add a 112,000 square feet Generation 4 facility and will lead to approximately 400 construction jobs over the next 12 months. Once complete, Microsoft will employ approximately 50-70 people to manage the needs of both the existing and expanded facility, according to Christian Belady, GM of Data Center Services, Microsoft. In addition, he points out the environmental strengths in Microsoft’s approach to data centres, “Microsoft has turned up the dial on efficiency in power optimisation of the entire infrastructure of our data centres, enabling us to reduce our carbon footprint and minimise waste.”

About the Data Centre:

The expansion of the data centre will help Microsoft meet growing customer demand for its cloud services, and provide a scalable and cost effective cloud infrastructure for future cloud growth. This technologically advanced facility significantly reduces water, power and energy use (compared with traditional data centre facilities) and at the same time enables a more efficient and higher utilisation of computing capacity and productivity.

Fast Facts

• The Dublin facility is the first Microsoft mega data centre to be built outside of the U.S. and was connected to the Internet on July 1, 2009 to support the company’s growing cloud services. (Initially approximately 300,000 square feet)
• The expansion announced today will raise the total to 415,000 square feet of computing space at this facility and a total of 29.4 megawatts during peak operation.
• The data centre makes extensive use of outside air economisation to cool the facility year round, resulting in greater power efficiency with a resultant reduction in carbon footprint.
• The expanded facility will be 50 per cent more efficient than traditional data centres, and will use 99 per cent less water for cooling purposes.
• Further information on Microsoft’s environmental focus for data centres can be found here.
• As part of the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability, Microsoft has met the difficult requirements and is a signatory of the European Union’s (EU) Code of Conduct for Data Centres, a voluntary program that encourages organisations responsible for the operations of data centres to utilise technologies, systems, and processes that maximise the efficient use of electricity. Further information, can be found here. The Microsoft Dublin Data Center is also an officially recognized best practice by the European Commission meeting the requirements of the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign (www.sustenergy.org) in contributing to the achievement of making a voluntary commitment to the EU energy policy goals in the field of energy efficiency.
• Microsoft is one of the largest online service providers to sign the EU’s Code of Conduct for Data Centres. The company’s participation includes continuing to develop and employ systems and processes that deliver computing scale to meet its evolving cloud services business initiatives with the lowest possible consumption of power and natural resources. Through the Participant Reporting and by continued engagement with the other stakeholders in the Code, Microsoft provides insight into the impact and trends it is seeing in its data centres.
• In March 2011, Microsoft opened the €5.3 million European Cloud & Interoperability Center (CIC) in Brussels – designed to drive innovation and economic growth across Europe through business use of cloud computing
• In 1985, Microsoft first established its presence in Ireland with a manufacturing facility. Today the company employs 1,100 people in its EMEA Operations Centre, the European Development Centre, Dublin Data Centre and the company’s sales and marketing group for Ireland.
• Microsoft is committed to supporting the government’s policy agenda as it seeks to reignite economic growth and create new employment. In addition to the company’s direct economic impact through its 1,100 employees and data centre investments, Microsoft has invested in the development of an economic impact report on the potential role that the cloud can play in Ireland’s renewal; is supporting over 400 technology start-ups through our BizSpark programme; and continues to invest significantly in helping students at all levels of education to reach their potential through the use of technology. A new study by the London School of Economics and Political Science and Microsoft reveals the development of cloud computing will promote economic growth, increase productivity and shift the type of jobs and skills required by businesses.
• ETRO study (2009) – 1 million new SME jobs in EU-27, adoption of cloud computing solutions could create 100,000+ new SMEs in Europe, reducing unemployment rates (reduced by 0.3/0.6 %) and increasing GDP growth (increased by 0.1/0.3%).
• A recent cloud study of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) commissioned by Microsoft shows that SMBs using cloud services report tangible benefits: 49 per cent say their business is more flexible; 45 per cent say it is saving money; 39 per cent say it is more productive; and 25 per cent say it has made them more innovative.
• Video: President Western Europe, Klaus Holse, presents small businesses, which are transforming their businesses in the cloud
• Microsoft Entrepreneurship and SMB case studies can be found here.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

Dublin became the location of Microsoft’s first mega data centre in Europe in September 2009, opening with a $500m investment in the region. This expansion is the latest in a sequence of cloud announcements Microsoft has made across Europe recently – see below for further details:

• In March 2011, Microsoft opened the €5.3 million European Cloud & Interoperability Center in Brussels – designed to drive innovation and economic growth across Europe through business use of cloud computing
• In December 2011, Office 365 became the first and only major cloud service to comply with leading EU (and US) standards for data protection and security
• Also in December, the European Environment Agency and Microsoft announced the launch of the cloud-based Eye on Earth network at COP17: a global, collaborative service for environmental data sharing
• A diverse and growing list of customers ranging from Bang and Olufson, Dutch National Police, Konica Minolta Business Solutions,Swisscom, Tata Steel to Volvo Car Corporation have become Microsoft’s customers in the past year

For further information about Microsoft’s work with cloud customers across Europe and how cloud computing is impacting on the region, click through to the following resources:

• Background on the latest developments at Microsoft’s Dublin data centre
• Microsoft Europe Cloud Computing home – customer case studies, research, events and opinion articles
• Take a video tour of a Microsoft cloud data centre
• A recent study by the London School of Economics showed that investment in cloud computing is contributing to growth and job creation