By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Data Center Nation 2024 highlighted the resurgence of Italy’s data center prowess as the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) convened a distinguished panel of industry leaders at its debut summit. Led by Lorenzo Fanara, Italian Ambassador to the UAE, and Valerio Soldani, Director of ITA Dubai, the panel featured Mario Stefani, CEO of Polo Strategico Nazionale; Andrea Lazzaroli, Head of Business Marketing at Open Fiber; and Raffaele Laudani, Councillor of Bologna’s Municipality. The discussion centred on technology transformation and the digital landscape, showcasing Italy’s vibrant data center market and its vast investment potential across various sectors. With insights poised to reshape industry perspectives, the presentation underscored Italy’s thriving data center sector, its dynamic market, and expansive investment prospects spanning IT and infrastructure sectors.
In the UAE, data center industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% from 2021 to 2025. Colocation, managed service providers, and hyperscalers dominate the market, while enterprise data centers are set for significant growth in rack power density. Meanwhile, Italy’s data center market has shown remarkable progress, reaching USD 3.03 billion in 2023 and expected to soar to USD 3.83 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 3.98%. The anticipated investment surge, potentially reaching up to USD 15 billion by 2025, highlights Italy’s attractiveness to European cloud providers aiming to establish data centers.
“Positioned to become a pivotal hub for data center growth in Europe, Italy boasts a strategic location and advanced cloud adoption, solidifying its status as a mature player within Europe and beyond. With a surge in specialists and contributions from industry leaders, Italy exemplifies unwavering dedication to technological advancement. Coupled with a favourable investor climate and increasing confidence in its digital infrastructure, Italy offers compelling opportunities for investment and innovation in the data center sector, paving the way for strategic partnerships with the UAE and the broader Gulf region” said Lorenzo Fanara, Italian Ambassador to the UAE.
With growing emphasis on digital enablers and transformers, the Cloud market is projected to reach USD 5.68 billion in 2022, underscores Italy’s dedication to digitization projects and transformative technologies such as Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Big Data, and AI/Cognitive. These advancements are poised to revolutionize data management and analysis.
“Italy is an essential destination for data center investments, boasting significant projects in digital transformation driven by the NRPP/Next Generation EU plan. As the second-largest manufacturing powerhouse in Europe, Italy also features a thriving, innovation-intensive industrial ecosystem, making it an attractive hub for technological advancements and infrastructure development” highlighted Valerio Soldani, Director, ITA Dubai.
As global businesses seek tailored solutions and deeper engagement, cloud providers are increasingly becoming the preferred choice. Italy, with its favourable socio-economic climate and steadfast commitment to regulatory compliance, is emerging as a pivotal force in Europe’s evolving cloud and data center landscape. As Italy continues its digital evolution, it not only unlocks new avenues for economic expansion and job creation but also reaffirms its role in shaping Europe’s digital frontier.
Driven by the INVEST IN ITALY campaign, Italy presents a dynamic and diverse industrial landscape that is fueled by a surging demand for cloud services, extensive ultrabroadband and 5G coverage. With a robust innovation ecosystem, which includes universities and research hubs dedicated to Data Science and HPC, as well as state-of-the-art supercomputers like the pre-Exascale “Leonardo,” Italy offers a strategic environment conducive to R&D activities and the exploration of HPC applications across various sectors.
