I N D U S T R Y I N T E L L I G E N C E

My name is Giancarlo Giacomello , and I am the Head of Data Centre Offering for Aruba S . p . A , Italy ’ s leading data centre and cloud services provider . I joined Aruba in 2017 and have since managed colocation projects , ensuring customer needs are met . In my current role , I lead the colocation business line and oversee a team focused on planning and delivering tailored customer solutions . In June 2023 , I was elected as member of the board of directors in the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact ( CNDCP ), an

initiative aiming to make European data centres climate neutral by 2030 .

Aruba recently inaugurated a new data centre campus in Rome . What drove Aruba to open a campus in Rome ?

Despite Rome being Italy ’ s capital , it still has limited data centre infrastructures . On the other hand , Milan is increasingly crowded , so it is useful to consider different strategical areas to create new infrastructure . Choosing Rome as the location for Aruba ’ s latest campus was an opportunity to accelerate the development of the cloud and colocation offerings in that area , and also balance out the importance of Milan by making the capital a strategic point in Central Italy , bringing to Rome a type and scale of new generation data centre that was not yet available there

Rome is also well-placed to become a global connectivity hub : while the new campus will help improve the delivery of critical services across Central and

South Italy , including to large public administrations and government agencies , it will also significantly improve connections between Europe , Africa , the Middle East and Asia .

We ’ re accelerating this process by establishing several points of presence at the campus . In July 2024 , for example , Sparkle – the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators – activated its new point of presence at the Hyper Cloud Data Centre . Thanks to connections with Sparkle ’ s new BlueMed cable , created to increase connectivity throughout the Mediterranean , we ’ re reinforcing Italy ’ s capital ’ s role as a strategic global connectivity hub . Additionally , the campus now hosts points of presence for Namex and MIX , further enhancing its role as a critical interconnection hub by providing high-performance , low-latency access to over 240 networks via Namex and more than 400 AS through MIX .

What features does the campus have that are helping Aruba meet evolving customer needs in the long term ?

To enable business growth , businesses require stable , resilient IT infrastructures that constantly deliver and deploy everyday workloads at scale . If the system fails to do so , companies risk being faced with critical operational issues like downtime , which can lead to loss of productivity , revenue and customer satisfaction . Because of this , customers generally express a need for flexible and scalable colocation solutions .

We ’ ve designed our data centres to meet these demands with customised colocation solutions ranging from rack portions to entire rooms up to private cages and cross-connections . Customers can , therefore , gain the flexibility to scale IT resources up or down when necessary . Not only does this allow them to adjust their infrastructure as needs evolve , but it also plays a crucial role in supporting new applications , expanding cloud adoption , and accommodating data growth and Digital Transformation .

We have a history of building colocation projects in the last five years , tailored

Giancarlo Giacomello , Head of Data Centre Offering for Aruba S . p . A

around even the most extreme customers ’ requirements , choosing the best-in-class solutions to be able to provide the best colocation services the industry has to offer .

Our infrastructure is also built with resilience in mind . We want to ensure our customers receive continuous and reliable service , meeting international standards . The first data centre on our Rome campus , therefore , recently obtained the ANSI / TIA-942-C Rating 4 Constructed Facility certification . After rigorous checks by the EPI , a leading global data centre training provider , this certification confirms adherence to the standard ’ s requirements for design , planning , and construction and guarantees the continuity of services , long-term resilience , and future-proofed technologies for our customers .

How does this campus differ in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency ?

Aruba is committed to continuously improving the sustainability of its data centres , and the Rome campus is no exception . As one of the first signatories of the CNDCP that completed their audit necessary to demonstrate the adherence to the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact Self-Regulatory Initiative ( SRI ) we met the SRI ’ s July 1 deadline last year , confirming we are on track to meet the 2030 target . This included demonstrating our infrastructure is meeting measurable targets for 2025 and 2030 in areas such as energy efficiency , water conservation , circular economy , circular energy usage and the prioritisation of using energy

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