On Ireland’s Digital Front Line dealing with Covid-19

At no other point in recent memory have we seen so many societal changes happen so quickly. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted major shifts in the way we live, work, educate and play.

Data centres are at the heart of this transition by helping us maintain our livelihoods, feed our families and build community bonds in a time of social distancing.

We depend on data centres to deliver the data we need in the same way we depend on the electric company to ensure the lights go on when we flip the switch. According to INEX, traffic peaks at their exchange increased 35% during the first two weeks of the Irish lockdown as companies and workers adjusted their business models to accommodate the mandate. It comes as no surprise that, like every other utility, data centre personnel are part of the government’s essential workers list here in Ireland.

Perhaps most importantly, data centres are supporting the backend infrastructure for the most essential services our society needs right now. Hospitals are using digital healthcare platforms to care for patients. Finance ministers are coordinating with central banks and other financial institutions to keep the global economy afloat. Companies who are shifting their manufacturing capabilities to produce ventilators and personal protective equipment are using digital systems to readjust their application models.

Data centre operators are acutely aware of their responsibility to keep the networks running. As the scale of the pandemic began to take shape, Host in Ireland partners rapidly made adjustments to protect and support their workforce, maintain the integrity of the data centre environments and assist customers who needed to quickly ramp up services. Planning for contingencies is the foundation of a data centre build to ensure the campuses are up and running 24/7/365 regardless of the external circumstances.

At a time when traditional factories are closed, data centres continue to operate and play a significant role in keeping the economy moving. Companies are being forced to operate differently than they were just even a few weeks ago. Data centres are guiding their customers to ensure the mission critical infrastructure is always available.

How do businesses remain productive? How do the applications handle the loads? How do customers/partners/employees communicate with each other? The answers to these questions have real economic implications as Irish data centres contribute to €86 billion in exported ICT services every year.

Availability of data is one thing that continues to give us a sense of normalcy amidst the uncertainty. Data centres are on the digital front line of the pandemic. The true heroes are, of course, the healthcare workers and those doing all they can to keep us fed and supplied with our household necessities. For the digital infrastructure designers, builders and engineers and all employees in the data centre industry, we also offer up our thanks for making sure our new normal is robustly connected in these challenging times.

By Garry Connolly who is the President and Founder of Host in Ireland, a strategic global initiative created to increase awareness of the benefits of hosting digital assets in Ireland.

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