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MILAN/STOCKHOLM: Amazon’s computing unit AWS is in talks with Italy to invest billions of euros to expand its data centre operations in the country, four people familiar with the matter said, part of the tech giant’s efforts to strengthen its cloud computing services in Europe.
Sources said discussions were underway over the size and location of the investments, with one of the sources saying Amazon Web Services (AWS) was considering expanding its existing site in Milan or building a new one.
Spokespeople for AWS and the Cabinet Office’s digital transformation unit declined to comment. A spokesman for Italy’s industry ministry was not immediately available for comment.
AWS launched its first cloud region in Italy in 2020 as part of a €2 billion ($2.2 billion) investment plan by 2029.
The company’s website shows that luxury car maker Ferrari and insurance company Assicurazioni Generali are its clients in the country.
AWS recently announced that it will invest 15.7 billion euros to build data centers in the Aragon region of northeastern Spain, replacing the company’s 10-year plan announced in 2021, when it allocated 2.5 billion euros to the country.
AWS’ investment in Italy will be in the billions of dollars, but may not be as large as its plans for Spain, according to one source, who said the investment will not be made public.
In Germany, AWS plans to invest 7.8 billion euros by 2040.
AWS is also building infrastructure to provide cloud services to telecom customers, which requires a lot of resources.
Earlier this month, Telefónica Germany gained its first customer when it announced plans to migrate 1 million customers to the AWS cloud.
AWS announced plans last year to store data on servers located in the European Union to protect data privacy for customers in governments and heavily regulated industries.
Many large corporate customers are starting to spend money on cloud computing again after taking a pause last year, as interest in artificial BroadCast Unitedligence drives a rebound in the $270 billion cloud infrastructure market, analysts and executives say.
Alphabet, which in 2020 reached a landmark deal to provide cloud services to Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, has invested €1 billion in Italy to build the two cloud regions that Intesa relies on.
Microsoft said a year ago it would launch its first cloud region in Italy as part of a $1.5 billion investment plan announced in 2020.
($1 = 0.9211 EUR)
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