IBM Opens Cloud Data Centre In Italy

IBM has opened its first cloud data centre in Italy, expanding its hybrid cloud presence into the country.

Located in Cornaredo, about 7 miles North West of Milan, the SoftLayer data centre has capacity for up to 11,000 servers, a power rating of 2.8 megawatts, and a Tier III design. The data centre also offers the full range of IBM Cloud infrastructure services, including bare metal and virtual servers, storage, security services, and networking.

Italian IT sector

IBM said that the progression of the Italian IT industry is one of the reasons for the data centre’s opening.

“The Italian IT sector is changing as startups and enterprises alike are increasingly turning to the cloud to optimise infrastructure, lower IT costs, create new revenue streams, and spur innovation,” said Marc Jones, CTO for SoftLayer.

Nicola Ciniero, IBM Italy’s general manager said that the data centre represents a financial and technological investment made by IBM into a country in which it has “faith” in.

“Having an IBM Cloud presence in Italy will provide local businesses with the right foundation to innovate and thrive on a global level,” said Ciniero.

Part of IBM’s $1.2 billion (£770m) investment in 2014 to expand its global cloud footprint, the Milan data centre expands the total number of IBM Cloud data centres to 40 worldwide, which includes 24 SoftLayer data centers.

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