Support for SMEs, solar power investment and the cost of data

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

What do data centres really cost?

Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (PBFI) has called on the Government to set up a scheme offering up to 90 per cent guarantees against lending to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to aid a recovery of the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic. Joe Brennan reports.

Irish group Shannon Energy and Danish company Obton plan to kick off a €300 million investment in the Republic by spending €60 million on plants that will generate electricity from solar power. Barry O'Halloran has the details.

Irish and UK business groups have called on Dublin and Belfast to co-ordinate their response to the coronavirus outbreak amid concern that policy divergence on the island of Ireland may amplify the crisis, writes Eoin Burke-Kennedy.

Adoption of internet of things (IoT) technologies by businesses continues to rise in the Republic, according to Vodafone. Charlie Taylor reports.

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Resident sage Cantillon ponders AIB's tracker woes, annual general meetings in a time of lockdown and coronavirus versus cancer.

In her weekly column Karlin Lillington says that the DPC needs more money and more people right now.

Marie Boran looks at the carbon cost of powering data centres.

Olive Keogh meets PMD Solutions, makers of RespiraSense, for whom the coronavirus has been the catalyst that has propelled it centre stage. She also meets the husband and wife team behind Wild Irish Foragers.

Ciara O'Brien gives her verdict on the Fitbit Charge 4.

Mark Fitzgerald, founder and chairman of real estate firm Sherry Fitzgerald. talks to Ciarán Hancock about the housing market's difficulties and resilience in the time of Coronavirus on our Inside Business podcast.

Conn Ó Midheach

Conn Ó Midheach

Conn O Midheach is Assistant Business Editor - Digital of The Irish Times