Data center consultant Granlund grows in the Nordics
3.5.2021 – Pelle Ahlström to head business development in Granlund Sweden
Already working with several data center clients in Sweden, Granlund Group opened its Lidköping office in 2020. This year, Granlund Sweden hired Pelle Ahlström to head business development.
In the data center industry, Pelle Ahlström has worked with sales and business development for nearly 15 years. Before joining Granlund, he headed the sales at Swedish data center operator EcoDataCenter where they built the first climate-positive data center in the world.
Now Pelle Ahlström takes on a new challenge as a head of business development at Granlund Sweden. “My mission at Granlund is to look for new business opportunities and find innovative ways of doing business. This huge challenge excites me – I really like the way Granlund sees the business in the future. I look forward to learning new things within the industry and developing datacenters from design to project management”, says Pelle Ahlström.
The CEO of Granlund Sweden Marcus Karlsson is delighted to have Pelle on his team. “Pelle is a valuable addition for us. He brings such a strong customer understanding and sales approach to the team”.
Strengthening the Nordic presence
With experienced engineers and a solid background in technical building services, Granlund offers a holistic package from designing the data center from concept to commissioning. Granlund works with the biggest operators in the data center industry and with smaller local companies as well.
However, Granlund Sweden is the group’s first data center unit outside Finland. “We are very eager to be the trailblazers and grow Granlund’s data center presence in the Nordics”, says Marcus. “Every customer relationship is based on trust, and it takes time to build that trust. We are ready to put in the time”.
Granlund Sweden is also going to expand in the becoming years. “Our aim is to hire 50 more new employees in the next coming years”, Marcus says.
Pelle’s predictions: What are the key drivers for data center development now and in the future?
- More data. The amount of data is increasing constantly. The data center industry will reach its peak within 5-10 years.
- Sustainability 2.0. With the ever-increasing data, reusing power and utilizing waste heat created by data centers is essential. For instance, the Swedish power systems are developing fast and renewable energy sources are on the rise in the Nordics.
- Shifting approaches to handling data. It is a growing trend for large companies to outsource their IT and datacenter business.
- Data brought close. 5G, AI, self-driving cars – they all need low latency which means data processing close to the users. Is the solution small data centers in containers, or perhaps edge data centers?
- Cloud, cloud, and more cloud. Besides hyperscalers like Amazon and Google, more cloud-providers are emerging into the market. Traditional data centers are also changing their business.
- The industry never sleeps. The data center industry is hard to predict. We need to keep our ears and eyes open and listen carefully to our customers. Finding the silent signals and keeping up with trends is critical.
Read also
Granlund Sweden spelar en viktig roll i datacenterbranschen
Granlund expands its data center business to Sweden
Want to hear more?
Marcus Karlsson
More of our news
Granlund expands its construction management business in Sweden
03.04.2025 – Stockholm-based Coordia Consult AB is now part of Granlund Group. The company focuses on construction management and supervision.
Granlund’s emission reduction targets approved by SBTi
28.03.2025 – Granlund’s emission reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The aim of SBTi is to…
“We are one of the major construction management consultants in Finland”
25.03.2025 – At Granlund, construction management and supervision are growing at a nice rate. Customer satisfaction is high, and both net sales…
New project expedites circular economy in MEP
12.03.2025 – The project collects information and investigates ways in which circular economy can be achieved in practice. The prerequisites for the…
How to find the perfect spot for your data center
26.02.2025 – The climate, regulations, and infrastructure make the Nordics prime real estate for data centers. Picking the right site requires knowing…
Greenfield Nordic is now Granlund UK
13.02.2025 – Greenfield Nordic became part of Granlund in 2018. Changing the name marks a natural step towards further alignment with the…
Granlund continued its strong growth
12.02.2025 – In 2024, Granlund performed well in the challenging real estate and construction market. Data center, renovation, software and public sector…
Max Bladström to assume role as CEO of Granlund Stockholm AB
30.01.2025 – Max Bladström has had a long career at Granlund Stockholm and has recently served as Deputy CEO.
Taking Finnish Cleanroom Expertise to the World
28.01.2025 – Finnish companies have special expertise in the design, construction and turnkey deliveries of cleanrooms. Granlund is a part of a…
Subscribe to our newsletter
Be among the first to hear about the latest news and trends relating to Granlund and the real estate and construction sectors.
