Q: What inspired your decision to join us and head up our MiCiM Italia team in Milan?

 
A: “I have had the chance to meet and work with MiCiM since 2020. I was involved in the construction and delivery of three big data centres in Israel for Compass Datacenters, where MiCiM were engaged as project managers until 2023. This was a complex project due to several challenging factors like the high specifications required by the customer, localisation processes, and local law and construction codes compliance.

I appreciated the professionalism, competency, expertise and collaborative approach I experienced working with MiCiM. Their proactive approach was always focused on problem-solving, with a great deal of attention given to building relationships and achieving customer satisfaction. These are core values that I share and firmly believe in, and which I consider the key to success in this business.

After a career of more than 20 years of in established international companies such as ABB, Siemens and Schneider, I have chosen to join MiCiM for the chance to develop a business which is in an earlier stage of its growth. As well as the positive experiences of working with them in the past, I was attracted by the wide range of high-value services they offer clients, such as project management, contract & cost management, commissioning, technical consultancy, and environmental & sustainability consultancy. These are all essential for the development of digital infrastructure, and this comprehensive service suite makes MiCiM a highly effective and competitive player internationally and in Italy.

I believe that, with my extensive experience and alignment with MiCiM’s values, I’m well placed to lead MiCiM Italia and drive MiCiM’s growth in the dynamic Italian data centre market. As well as bringing new clients on board and increasing our brand presence in the country, I’m really keen to further cultivate the talent that we have in the business and ensure our people have every opportunity to develop new skills and progress their careers.”
 

Q: What is the current state of data centre sector in Italy, and what does the future hold?

 
A: “Thanks to the growing demand for AI, storage capacity, and computing power driven by the major cloud providers (such as Google, AWS, and Microsoft), Italy ranks as the 5^th country in Europe and 12^th globally for digital investments, with €23bn in digital and critical infrastructure investments already planned.

In 2023-24, digital investments exceeded €5bn, with forecasted investment of over €10bn by 2026, strengthening Italy’s role as a digital hub in the Mediterranean. This is something it is ideally suited to, thanks to its geographical position and the development of new terrestrial and submarine cables connecting it to other European, Middle Eastern, and North African markets. Reflecting the scale of investment, in 2024 the installed IT capacity in Italy exceeded 500MW – growth of more than 17% from 2023.

As well as its favourable geographic location, there are a number of other reasons why Italy has emerged as a significant data centre market.

Firstly, Italy has a solid industrial and manufacturing tradition and complex production chains, and these require sufficient critical infrastructure to support the digital transformation which is happening throughout the economy. Consequently, the development of data centres within Italy is fundamental for the efficiency, competitiveness, and innovation of the national economy.

Secondly, the Italian government is firmly committed to achieving digital sovereignty as well as playing a primary role in the international market.

Thirdly, the largest data centre nodes in Europe – Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin – are increasingly saturated, and the growing demand for digital infrastructure throughout Europe is encouraging international operators, customers and investors to enter the Italian market as an alternative.

The development and construction of new and larger data centres in Italy is an extraordinary opportunity for the country, and for us at MiCiM Italia. But it does bring challenges too. To address these, I believe that we need to see continuous dialogue between the government and private sector to simplify permit procedures, and the Italian Data Center Association (IDA), of which we are members, is helping in this regard.

We also need to see an upgrade in renewable electric grid capacity to ensure investors choose Italy for the next generation of AI-focused data centres with their higher computational loads.

Furthermore, Italy could benefit from policies that encourage data centre construction in underutilised industrial zones, and solutions such as the use of waste heat for homes and businesses, which bring further sustainable economic benefits to local areas. And finally, I think we need further investment in skills for the construction and operation of digital infrastructure within Italy.

I already mentioned grid capacity as a challenge, although it is far from being a uniquely Italian one. With demand for data centres and investment increasing so quickly across the world, power is always going to be a potential limitation.

In 2025 Terna has received requests for high voltage grid connection of a total of 55GW, compared with 32GW received in 2024, mainly focused on the north of Italy. It forecasts that data centre power consumption will reach 3% of national demand by 2030. Fortunately, Terna plan to invest €23bn between 2025 and 2034 to strengthen the grid, integrate new renewable energy sources, and ensure the security and sustainability of Italy’s energy system.

Milan and its surrounding region is currently the biggest hub for data centres in Italy, but I believe that the need to secure sufficient local grid capacity will prompt investors to look at new locations for their data centres. After Lombardy and Piedmont, I think we should look to Rome and the Lazio region, Apulia and possibly Sicily as future data centre hotspots.

Rome is a key economic centre for Southern Europe but also a strategic access point to the Mediterranean basin, so I very much expect this to become a crucial hub for global connectivity.”