Click here for the full organisers statement of attendance 

Overview

DataCentres Ireland was again heralded as a success by Exhibitors, Visitors and Speakers alike, as it delivered more attendees, more content and more delegates than ever before.

“This year’s DataCentres Ireland raised the bar again. The conference was very informative and extremely well attended… The quality of the audience delivered was second to none and packed with real decision makers. The exhibition was well balanced, had something for everyone and showcased the latest in products services and technologies to assist data centres in achieving their sustainability and carbon reduction aims… Overall this year’s DataCentres Ireland was Great… The best yet.” David McAuley, CEO & Founder, Bitpower 

This was the largest visitor and total attendance in the 13yr history of DataCentres Ireland, delivering over 2000 attendees across the two days of the event.

Year on year visitor attendance was up by 21%, however, there was a slight fall in the number of exhibition personnel manning the stands which resulted in the overall attendance being 11.7% up on 2022.

The number of individual stands fell slightly from 120 to 107, however the total area of the show increased by 30% as exhibitors invested more into the size and look of their stands.

The geographic footprint of the overall event, was larger than in 2022, as a result of this additional space, and the increase in attendance to the conference sessions, some exhibitors felt the show was less busy than in 2022, however this was not the case.

DataCentres Ireland provided a safe, secure, clean, and structured environment, where they were able to network with colleagues, see the latest in products, services, technology, and equipment and listen to industry leaders and experts discussing the latest, issues, approaches and ideas affecting Data Centres and Critical Environments.

“This event keeps getting better and better. Great Conference programme with informative content and very well attended. DataCentres Ireland delivered a quality audience of decision makers responsible for not only for the Irish market but those designing and building data centres across Europe and the world.

Good People… Good Vibe… Good Show“  Mark Acton, Independent Data Centre Consultant, Acton Consulting

Exhibitors commented on the quality of attendees present at DataCentres Ireland and lack of time wasters at the show, that gave them more time to engage with buyers, discuss their needs and forge lasting business contacts and relationships.

This level of attendance was achieved despite other Data Centre focussed events being run at the same time in different countries, all of which will have had a negative effect on attendance.

Most of the presentations and panel discussions (if not all) were linked to ‘How can Data Centres can continue to improve their efficiency, Standby generation and grid flexibility, reducing their carbon footprint and on how they could assist the utility companies, in the adoption of greener & renewable energy sources, such as Solar, Wind, etc…”

Many thanks for all your hard work and effort with the event – a tremendous success – well done and thank you.Michael McCarthey, Director, Cloud Infrastructure Ireland

The conference programme featured over 60 international and local experts and industry leaders. The conference addressed a wide range of issues from data centre development, regionalisation through to training & staff retention, the impact of AI on data centres as well as decarbonisation and energy reduction and heat re-use.

One of the highlights was the Keynote Address by Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, whose speech attracted nearly 200 delegates. Whilst recognising the challenges to the grid, Simon was broadly supportive of data centres and their continued development in Ireland.

The importance of the Conference sessions to the delivery of quality attendees should not be underestimated, as many attendees had planned the timing and length of stay to allow them to hear particular papers or panel discussions.

Anecdotally, a number of Speakers and Delegates stated that the range of presentations, depth of content and quality of speaker makes DataCentres Ireland one of the world leading events from a delegate’s perspective.

“Having attended DataCentres Ireland several times since its inception, the event this year really stepped up a gear (excuse the pun), there was a really good vibe through the whole event and our stand was busy throughout the two days. I presented a session on AI and the room was packed which then led to a steady stream of traffic to the stand for the rest of the day. I then participated in a panel discussion in the last presentation slot of the busy conference program (the “Graveyard slot”) and again the room was full and very engaging with lots of questions resulting in the session running over time by about 20 minutes.

I usually judge the success of a show by the quality of the contacts and leads that we take away – one really solid opportunity usually justifies the investment. From DataCentres Ireland, we took away a dozen solid leads and several invitations to come and present to new customers and their teams. We are already planning on attending with a bigger presence in 2024. 

Big thanks to Hugh, Loraine and the whole StepEx team!” Keith Sullivan, Director of Strategic Innovation, AFL Hyperscale