IBM opens first cloud data center in Italy

The Milan location supports an emerging cloud-computing market in Italy, which, according to The Polytechnic University of Milan's Observatory of Cloud and ICT as a Service, saw 31 percent year-over-year growth in 2014, with a total market spend of more than EUR 1.18 billion. "The Italian IT sector is changing as startups and enterprises alike are increasingly turning to the cloud to optimize infrastructure, lower IT costs, create new revenue streams, and spur innovation," said Marc Jones, chief technology officer for SoftLayer, an IBM Company. "The Milan data center extends the unique capabilities of our global platform by providing a fast, local onramp to the cloud. Customers have everything they need to quickly build out and test solutions that run the gamut from crunching big data to launching a mobile app globally." "This data center represents a financial and technological investment made by a multinational company that has faith in this country's potential," said Nicola Ciniero, General Manager, IBM Italy. "Having an IBM Cloud presence in Italy will provide local businesses with the right foundation to innovate and thrive on a global level."