Data Centers, until now considered a niche market and a less than flexible asset, have become a pillar of information economy.
Cushman & Wakefield can claim a high level of global experience and, in Italy, it has been able to capitalize on the know-how accumulated over time by finalizing, in 2013, the first Data Center operation on the Milan market. The growing interest for the sector led, a year ago, to the establishment of a dedicated section within the Industrial & Logistic team.
Milan has been establishing itself as an emerging location, aiming in the medium-term to be counted among the number of modern European markets, such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Zurich, markets that are an uninterrupted source of interest among international operators. The growing importance of Milan is tied to the growing availability of infrastructures and service providers, and to the growing demand of customers that need the services and activities Data Centers can provide. In particular, today we keep noticing that some among the main players have not interrupted their research and/or their already ongoing projects for areas around Milan, especially in the western part of the city, an already established cluster, but also with an eye towards possible eastward and southward expansion to strengthen their presence in Italy.
The COVID pandemic has sped up demand for “remote” services, in all sectors: consumption, work and entertainment (Netflix, multimedia streaming, etc.) to name a few. The internet is today under a great deal of stress, and digital traffic will undoubtedly increase even after the end of the pandemic.
The speed with which the sector is changing makes the creation of a coherent Data Center strategy a complex and intimidating task. Businesses have to decide what to do about their internal structures, what workloads to transfer to cloud technology and how to implement a hybrid IT strategy. Developers and operators require a stable fiber connection and energy access, as well as in-depth knowledge of the authorization process and of all the risk factors. This is why, the consultant’s role is so important, to educate non-specialized operators to analyze and understand the most significant factors for the specific request, and to establish targets accordingly.
