Data centers: The infrastructure behind the digital world

Hidden inside a historic building in Milan is a heavily-protected data centre designed to keep digital services running around the clock through layers of backup power, cooling and connectivity systems.

Built in 2014 in the former headquarters of telecoms operator Fastweb, the facility hosts cloud and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services for customers ranging from small to large companies, including banks and insurance firms, as well as public-sector organisations.

"This is a flagship facility for our company because it guarantees maximum reliability and consistency for digital services," said Max Gasparroni, chief technology and security officer at Fastweb, during a Reuters visit on Wednesday (September 9).

Spread across about 2,100 square metres, the facility is designed to ensure uninterrupted service through a fully redundant architecture, earning 'Tier IV' status, the highest level of reliability certified by the Uptime Institute.

"All systems are duplicated in power supply, cooling and connectivity systems to ensure maximum availability of digital services for our customers," Gasparroni said.

A number of projects to develop new data centres around Milan have emerged in recent months, but some local communities have raised concerns about their environmental impact and the demands they place on energy and water resources.

"We have implemented various solutions to improve efficiency," Gasparroni said, adding that water consumption is "virtually non-existent" in Fastweb's data centre.

To cool the facility, a closed-loop system continues to circulate the 120,000 litres of water that were introduced when the centre was built in 2014.

As for electricity consumption, which Gasparroni compared to that of 400 households, the facility is powered entirely by renewable energy sources, enabling it to transmit up to 13–15 petabytes of data every day - that's equivalent to the size of 3.25 million to 3.75 million high-definition movies.

Camera & Editing: Alex Fraser; Production & Writing: Matteo Negri/Reuters