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.
The total attendance was up 23.0% year on year over the two days of DataCentres Ireland delivering more than 3,000 people interested in the sector. However, this is not the whole story.
“DataCentres Ireland was an outstanding forum to get underneath the strategic issues shaping Ireland’s future as a global data-centre hub. From Minister Dooley’s address to the highly practical breakout sessions, the day struck the perfect balance between policy depth and real-world innovation. The relaxed venue made meaningful networking effortless, and as a startup, Clear Decisions really valued the genuine peer environment. A fantastic event that brings the whole ecosystem into one conversation.” — Louisa Cilenti, chief legal officer, Clear Decisions
Essential nature of data centres in modern society
Day 1 was busy from the get-go. Starting with keynote address from minister of state Timmy Dooley, detailing the Irish governments recognising the essential nature of data centres in modern society and their wish to work with the data centre community both for the leveraging of AI as well as recognising the impact of data centres in attracting foreign direct investment. You can view the minister's keynote address by following the link https://www.datacentres-ireland.com/
Day 1 saw a massive 34.7% growth on attendance year on year, with exhibitors and attendees commenting on the buzz in the exhibition hall. Moreover, exhibitors commented that while visitor numbers had significantly increased, there had been no compromise on the quality of audience delivered.
Day 2 had a slower start, however footfall built with a good feeling in the hall with the event delivering more than 600 new individuals for exhibitors to network and do business with. These were similar numbers to those achieved on Day 2 in 2024.
This was the largest visitor and total attendance in the events 15-year history, delivering more than 3,000 attendees across the two days.
The number of exhibitors also grew with the exhibition featuring more than 140 individual stands and showcasing more than 180 companies and thousands of brands.
Exhibitors and attendees acknowledged that DataCentres Ireland provided a professional business environment, where people 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.
“As usual a well organised event by Stepex. Great variety of exhibitors and visitors, so plenty of networking opportunities along with being able to see all the latest and greatest technologies and services available on the market today. The Data Centre segment is getting smarter and more collaborative, and this event guarantees any visitor the opportunity to appreciate that in many ways. — Paul Flanagan, EMEA regional director West, Camfil
Quality of attendees present
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.
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…’
“Thanks very much your assistance during the DCI event, I found you very easy to work with and had a great experience overall.” — Declan Murphy, marketing executive, Infinite Energy
The conference programme featured 90 international and local experts and industry leaders. The conference addressed a wide range of issues from data centre development, regionalisation, training and staff retention, the impact of AI on data centres as well as decarbonisation, energy reduction and heat re-use.
Make the grid more flexible for data centres
One of the many highlights was an insightful presentation by Mark Foley on the state of the Irish grid network and what could be actioned to make this grid more flexible for data centres. All presentations were broadly supportive of data centres and their continued development in Ireland.
“I just wanted to tell you that for us, the DataCentres Ireland event in Dublin was very fruitful… Therefore, we would like to reserve our place also for next year’s event.” — Kristaps Draudins, managing director, Controlit Factory
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.
“An excellent conference at a challenging time for the sector in Ireland, the key issues were discussed, and practical and innovative solutions are now emerging if Government & Regulators make the right decisions” — Mark Foley CEO, Mark Foley Strategic Solutions Limited
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.
“2025 was our first year attending the Data Centre Ireland Conference, and we were genuinely surprised by the quality and number of new leads, clients and customers we met and engaged with. It certainly exceeded our expectations.
"The event was exceptionally well run, highly organised, and the entire team couldn’t have been more helpful” — Pierce O’Reilly, communications manager, Source Civil.