What Ilkari's DC North Deal in Croatia Means for Colocation
Colocation providers are under growing pressure to deliver more than space and power.
Ilkari's integration of DC North in Croatia reflects this fact, as the company expands its European infrastructure platform with a carrier-neutral facility designed for organisations operating across regulated markets.
The multinational sovereign infrastructure provider has integrated DC North into its European operations, strengthening its footprint across the European Union while adding another location to a platform that already includes operations in Iceland and Colombia.
Located in Varaždin, around 70 kilometres north of Zagreb, the fully operational 4 MW facility is part of Ilkari's wider infrastructure ecosystem.
It combines colocation and sovereign cloud services within a single platform supporting digital identity, infrastructure delivery and sovereign workloads.
Expanding sovereign infrastructure across Europe
The addition of DC North continues Ilkari's investment in sovereign infrastructure for organisations operating in highly regulated industries.
DC North supports the company's broader strategy of providing infrastructure within EU jurisdiction for customers with demanding operational and compliance requirements.
The site is designed to support organisations that require resilient infrastructure while providing additional geographic diversity within Europe. It also offers expansion potential as demand for sovereign infrastructure continues to grow.
Shane Paterson, CEO at Ilkari, says: "European organisations are increasingly reassessing where critical infrastructure is operated, how data is governed and how operational resilience is ensured across complex digital environments.
"The integration of DC North strengthens our European presence and enhances our ability to support customers that require resilient, sovereign-aligned infrastructure within the European Union."
Connectivity and compliance
Alongside additional capacity, the Croatian facility strengthens Ilkari's network connectivity across the region.
DC North provides direct connections to internet exchange points in Austria, Hungary and Slovenia, enabling low-latency access across multiple European markets while supporting cross-border interconnection.
As Croatia's largest carrier-neutral data centre by operational power capacity, the facility gives customers the flexibility to choose between multiple network providers while strengthening resilience and connectivity.
The site also holds a wide range of internationally recognised certifications, including Uptime Tier III Design and Facility certification, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 20000, ISO 27001 and ISO 22301, alongside PCI DSS compliance for organisations handling payment card data.
It is also aligned with the European Union's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the regulation that establishes requirements for ICT risk management, operational resilience and business continuity across financial services and other regulated industries.
Supporting regulated workloads
As more organisations modernise critical systems and deploy AI workloads, infrastructure providers are now being assessed on governance, resilience and regulatory readiness alongside technical performance.
Shane Paterson adds: "DORA alignment is becoming a decisive differentiator for regulated enterprises evaluating European infrastructure partnerships.
"As organisations modernise critical systems and take on high-performance and AI-driven workloads, the infrastructure underneath needs to meet an increasingly high bar – from resilience, governance and connectivity to sovereign capability, all within EU jurisdiction."
DC North continues to operate with its existing on-site management, operations and technical teams as integration into Ilkari's wider European operations platform progresses, allowing the company to expand its European colocation footprint while maintaining continuity for existing customers.
