Why global giants are betting on Italy for data centres

Rome: Italy is becoming a key data centre hub, with €30 billion in investments and government plans to tackle energy costs and skill shortages. Milan is at the heart of this growth, attracting global tech giants

A strategic position. Italy is being recognised as an ideal location for data centres, said Adolfo Urso, the Minister of Enterprises.

During his speech at the Assolombarda assembly, he highlighted Italy’s geographical advantage as a G7 country in the Mediterranean, strategically positioned along vital information routes connecting the South, East, Europe, and the Atlantic.

With cities like Amsterdam, Dublin, and London facing network saturation, Italy stands out as a new hub for data infrastructure.

Multinational Giants Eye Italy. Urso announced that a major multinational corporation plans to invest €30 billion in Italy’s data centre industry, further boosting the country’s digital infrastructure.

This comes right after Microsoft’s €4.3 billion investment commitment for the next two years, underscoring Italy’s growing appeal in the global data market.

Tackling high energy costs. Despite the opportunities, Urso warned that Italy’s energy costs remain a significant challenge, as they are higher than those of other European competitors.

To resolve this, the Italian government is set to introduce a new legislative framework by the end of the year, allowing for the construction of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and making nuclear energy a cornerstone of the “Made in Italy” brand.

In addition to regulatory and energy concerns, Urso acknowledged the importance of addressing the skills gap to sustain the sector’s rapid growth. This remains a key factor in unlocking the full potential of Italy’s data centre industry.

Projects await approval. According to the Italian Datacenter Association (IDA), €15 billion worth of data centre projects are already in the pipeline, pending authorisation, and set to be completed by 2028.

This development is expected to more than triple the industry’s workforce, adding 70,000 new employees to the current 30,000, and positioning Italy as a major player in the European digital landscape.

Northern Italy, especially Milan, is rapidly gaining prominence in the data centre market, thanks to its strategic location and advanced telecommunications infrastructure.

A report by Il Sole 24 Ore lists prominent companies investing in the region, including Equinix, Vantage, Microsoft, Amazon-AWS, and others, marking Milan as a central hub for future growth in the sector.