By Contributing Editor, Kathy Xu

Ireland is known as the “King of Connectivity” and for good reason. It’s the gateway between Europe and the U.S., and a connectivity hub for transatlantic cables that travel from North America to Europe. That high level of connectivity, combined with Ireland’s pro-business and tech environment, has made the Dublin data center campus of Interxion (NYSE: INXN) extremely popular with American customers.

Recently, Data Center POST had the opportunity to conduct an extensive interview with Tanya Duncan, Managing Director of Interxion. Tanya has nearly 20 years of experience in the ICT industry, and began her career in the telecoms sector at KPNQwest and Esat BT. She joined Interxion in 2001 and held a number of positions with the company before becoming its Managing Director in 2005. Interxion operates more than 45 state-of-the-art facilities in 13 cities across Europe.

Data Center POST, Kathy Xu (DCP-KX) Question: Tell our readers about Interxion and its Dublin data center campus: What do you do and what problems are you attempting to solve?

Interxion, Tanya Duncan (INTERXION-TD) Answer: Interxion is a leading European provider of carrier and cloud-neutral colocation data center services and has three data centers in Ireland. Interxion has created connectivity, cloud, content and finance hubs that foster growing customer communities of interest, and we’re seeing growth in areas such as digital media and analytics, finance and legal.

Interxion Dublin now offers customers in Ireland Cloud Connect which provides Interxion’s customers in Dublin improved security, reliability, throughput and performance when accessing multiple clouds like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. This is a natural extension to a data center and will allow you to enjoy the public cloud without having to compromise on network performance.

With respect to data security, Interxion is seeing enterprises moving to the cloud and data center providers because of the security a data center can provide them in terms of compliance, scale-up and risk management as the number of cyber security attacks increase. For customers coming to data center providers such as Interxion the main motivator is data security. For companies based in Ireland, hybrid colocation continues to be the preferred choice, providing security and efficiencies of cost.

In Dublin, we pride ourselves on being partners to our customers, developing programs that will allow them to scale as required. Our customers know that they can rely on our connectivity, security and ability to scale quickly to meet their needs at any time.

European enterprises want to move infrastructure closer to their customers, and as business becomes increasingly global, this often means working with third-party data center providers for access to in-country facilities. All Interxion’s Dublin campuses provide direct access to the data and trading highways between Europe and the U.S, with two transatlantic submarine cable systems. Interxion’s services allow companies to extend their reach into new domestic, regional and international markets.

DCP-KX Q: How is the Dublin data center campus able to successfully service such a diverse client roster, which includes leaders in enterprise, SaaS, social media, gaming, as well as multinational to start-up companies?

INTERXION-TD A: Ireland offers a choice of secure connectivity routes to Europe and around the globe. Interxion’s newest data center, DUB3, has exceeded expectations with many organizations choosing Interxion for the flexibility Interxion can offer, which outrivals any other Dublin data centers.

Ireland is one of the best-connected countries worldwide. It offers a choice of secure connectivity routes to Europe and around the globe. Ireland also boasts 11 subsea cables that connect Ireland to the UK. At a local level, Ireland also offers organizations excellent broadband services.

Additionally, our weather means that the cost of cooling data centers is vastly less than many other locations. Given its temperate climate, Ireland is an ideal location in which to locate data centers and keep data.

Ireland is fortunate to be placed right in the heart of the trading world; it’s located in the gateway of the European market of more than 500 million people. Facebook, Apple and Google all decided to invest in Ireland, and one of the main reasons behind this was the climate, which allows them to save on equipment cooling costs.

As far as connectivity is concerned, in Dublin, we can support businesses whether they operate within Ireland, are looking to build a presence in Europe, or want to extend their service reach across the continent. Our interconnection hub is home to the Ireland’s Internet Neutral Exchange (INEX) with more than 45 leading national and international carriers, Internet service providers and content distribution networks. Whatever the nature, size and reach of the business, you’re assured of reliable, cost-effective connectivity throughout Europe, and the fastest performance for your applications.

The Dublin colocation market is developing into becoming a true technology hub, attracting international cloud and content providers looking to service the European market from Ireland. This trend is primarily driven by the availability of direct connectivity to North America, the UK as well as to continental Europe.

DCP-KX Q: What has Interxion achieved that makes it unique in the industry?

INTERXION-TD A: Customer service: Our data center services are designed for flexibility to grow as your business grows, and our interconnection products and connectivity mix helps optimize your network. We tailor solutions for our clients, which as a result allows them to grow and scale up as needed.

Energy is a fundamental component of the services Interxion delivers to our customers. We are committed to managing our resources responsibly now and into the future and are constantly innovating to improve the way we design and operate our data centers. This means we are always looking for new ways to optimize energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and cut waste.

Interxion also provides the core data center services that are driving the cloud revolution. Our facilities are the ideal environment for interconnecting with the cloud and building your hybrid solutions.

DCP-KX Q: What are new developments and initiatives that are exciting for Interxion in 2018?

INTERXION-TD A: Last year, Interxion announced the expansion of DUB3, Interxion’s third data center in Ireland due to the level of customer demand since the opening of DUB3 in December 2016. We will see Interxion Dublin add 1,200 square-meters of equipped space, which is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2018.

We’re facing a cloud-first future. With accelerating digital disruption leaving no industry untouched, agile access to cloud-based capabilities has become a business essential to keep pace with change. We are also seeing more professional service firms increase their capacity or partner with data centers as Brexit draws nearer.

DCP-KX Q: Thank you for being so generous with your time, Tanya. To learn more about Interxion, please visit www.Interxion.com.