MHR launch €1.5 million Investment in Irish Data Centre and new jobs in Ireland

MHR International, the global software and consultancy company, has today announced a major expansion of its Irish operations including a  €1.5m investment in the creation of new jobs in Maynooth and the greater Dublin and Kildare areas, and an extensive deployment with the world’s digital infrastructure company, Equinix. MHR International Group specialises in HR, payroll, employee engagement, learning and analytics and artificial intelligence services for over 1,200 organisations in the UK and Ireland.

The collaboration with Equinix will see a large deployment in data centres in Blanchardstown and Clondalkin, strengthening MHR’s commitment to customer data safety and reducing risk around cybercrime.

Alongside the data centre investment, the company is expanding its workforce in Ireland with senior customer focused roles to ensure we can support the Irish market fully.

Eamon Rheinisch, General Manager at MHR Ireland comments: “This new major investment in our operations and resources underlines MHR’s commitment to the Irish market and strengthens our all-island operations, particularly in the wake of Brexit. Other services on the market frequently use global hosting services that are mirrored or backed-up in just one data centre or other jurisdictions outside of the EU. This new data centre deployment offers customers confidence and peace of mind around best practice security and data privacy compliance. This eliminates a large operational risk that could severely damage relationships with staff, customers, boards, ministers or the regulator, or incur major fines. We’re delighted to collaborate with Equinix, the world’s digital infrastructure company, to offer a market-leading solution to organisations in Ireland.”

Commenting on the partnership and investment, Robert Troy, Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, said: “This strategic investment into infrastructure and hosting centres is an encouraging indicator of MHR’s commitment to Ireland, and an endorsement of our national competence and skills base in the digitalisation of business operations globally. Ireland is the second largest exporter of computer and IT services in the world, and as an open economy with a highly creative and talented workforce there's no better place in the world today for businesses with a focus on digital services to base themselves.

“Between the aftermath of Brexit and the impacts of COVID-19, life is very uncertain at the moment, and particularly so for many businesses and their employees – but if the pandemic has made anything certain, it’s that companies will increasingly look for reliable and secure digital solutions to managing their HR functions, payroll, workforce management and other key strategic functions. The future of work – be it remote or office based – will be managed through digital solutions.”

Anton Roe, CEO, MHR International, says: “Our customers are at the centre of everything we do, and we listen to everything they tell us. As an independent, privately-owned family business we can respond to customer needs and innovate quickly. We heard the concerns of businesses in Ireland and took action by launching our new data centre deployment.

“The data centre solution is just part of our ongoing investment in infrastructure and resources to support our customers and offer organisations in Ireland a real choice on who they partner with for their critical HR and payroll processes.”

Maurice Mortell, Managing Director, Ireland, Equinix said: “Today’s announcement underlines the crucial role Ireland’s data centre ecosystem plays in supporting the success of companies right down to the everyday functionality of key payroll and HR processes. MHR International is a well-established provider of market-leading software and services to enterprises both here in Ireland and on the international stage. We are delighted to further support MHR’s expanding business and continue to play an active role in broadening the accessibility of secure, flexible and reliable digital infrastructure across the country and beyond.”

Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive of the Irish SME Association, ISME, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to see this investment and expansion in MHR activity in Ireland. Professional management of the HR and payroll functions in the modern SME is a given. Failure to do the job correctly presents a financial and reputational risk to SMEs; so there are tangible benefits to leaving this in the hands of the professionals.”

MHR is a privately family-owned company with financial independence and stability, and has pursued a strategy of continual investment during these unprecedented times. Thanks to this latest investment, Irish customers can be assured of the integrity of their employee data. The commissioning of world class infrastructure for clients in Ireland means that their data is always stored locally which has been an ongoing concern for Irish customers and the wider market. MHR specialises in tailoring its market-leading cloud-based analytics, HR and payroll systems to customer requirements and this is the latest example of how it supports its customers in the Irish marketplace.

MHR stores data for circa two million employees and more than 1,200 organisations in Ireland and the UK across the public, private and not for profit sectors. It has been operating in Ireland for over 15 years.