Cloud- and carrier-neutral data center colocation provider, Digital Realty, has revealed its expansion into Italy with a fresh acquisition and development in Rome. This move is intended to consolidate Digital Realty’s standing as a predominant digital infrastructure provider across the Mediterranean, leveraging its foothold in significant locations like Athens, Marseille, and Zagreb, and supplementing other ongoing developments in areas like Barcelona, Tel Aviv, and Crete.
The Mediterranean, bridging three continents - Europe, Africa, and Asia - has recently emerged as a strategic crossroads for digital interchange, stated Digital Realty. It would be morphing into a global nexus for subsea cable systems, offering prime digital traffic exchanges. Rome’s addition to this digital network would underscore its burgeoning importance, especially given its stature as one of the EU’s most populous cities and Italy’s economic powerhouse in terms of GDP.
Moreover, Rome’s geographical edge strengthens Italy’s resilience in international and national network frameworks, added Digital Realty. The city’s evolution into a global connectivity epicenter would not only align it with Milan but also enhance its significance in the Mediterranean’s digital landscape.
In a joint vision with Rome's Internet Exchange, NAMEX, Digital Realty aims to metamorphose Rome into an unparalleled global interconnection hub. Maurizio Goretti, the CEO of NAMEX, remarked on this partnership, "Digital Realty's proven knack for nurturing robustly connected, carrier-neutral digital ecosystems syncs with our ambitions for Rome. This collaboration is a pivotal stride towards making that vision a reality."
Terrestrial and Subsea Networks
With the inaugural colocation data center, ROM1, pegged as a tier four facility by the Uptime Institute, construction gears up to kick off by the end of 2023. Strategically positioned a mere 15 kilometers from the coastline, the sprawling 22-hectare site is primed to be a pivotal juncture for upcoming subsea cables docking in Rome.
Jan-Pieter Anten, Digital Realty's Group Managing Director for EMEA, shared, "This maiden venture in Rome is emblematic of our integrated Mediterranean blueprint and reaffirms our dominant presence here. Our global data center colocation platform, PlatformDIGITAL, gets a substantial boost, fortifying our commitment to our clientele and the overarching data community."
Echoing this sentiment, Alessandro Talotta, Digital Realty's Managing Director in Italy, expressed, "Rome's carrier-neutral hub is set to catalyze the digital metamorphosis of regional and international enterprises. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure, connected seamlessly to terrestrial and subsea networks, is poised to serve our clientele with unparalleled advantages."
