Intesa Sanpaolo, TIM and Google Cloud have signed final agreements based on which the bank will migrate a substantial part of its information system to Google Cloud and will rely on TIM’s data centres in Italy.
The agreements follow the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the three organisations in May this year. The agreements will also help the Italian bank in meeting international security and data protection standards.
With the support of these agreements, Google will build two cloud regions in Turin and Milan on which the bank will base its digital services. Google will build its cloud regions inside the Italian telecom giant TIM’s data centres.
The project also involves opening a centre dedicated for artificial intelligence, training and professional support for startups through initiatives to be defined by Intesa Sanpaolo, Google and TIM. It was submitted for review by authorities as required by the law.
Intesa Sanpaolo chief IT, digital & innovation officer Massimo Proverbio said: “Thanks to this important agreement, Intesa Sanpaolo accelerates its path to become a truly Digital Company; the agreement will enable us to serve families and businesses more and more rapidly with innovative, easy-to-use services that respond to the Country’s growing digitization needs.
“The opening of two Cloud Regions, based on the most advanced Google solutions in TIM’s Datacenter, gives Intesa Sanpaolo a significant competitive advantage both because it means cloud services can be adopted more quickly and because it positions us as a leader in Europe, also in the technological field. Collaboration with two major companies such as Tim and Google will then allow us to promote and accelerate the spread of the digital culture within the whole Group.
“The initiatives in fact are not limited to the cloud, but may have developments in other technological areas such as data analysis and Artificial Intelligence; our goal is to create a virtuous path that enhances the professionalism we have today and that we want to have in the future by strengthening the skills present in the area also thanks to the support of the Turin Polytechnic.”
The two cloud regions are expected to provide the bank with the needed redundancy and operational continuity of cloud services.
The companies claim that the cloud regions will be built as per the latest environmental sustainability best practices, including carbon neutrality, in compliance with the bank’s sustainability guidelines, shared by TIM.
Google Cloud Italy head Fabio Fregi said: “We are delighted to contribute to the digital transformation of Intesa Sanpaolo, together with TIM. Google Cloud was found to be the most suitable to ensure the extreme reliability required of a systemic bank. We believe cloud services and infrastructure can support the evolution of the Italian Industrial, Banking and Public sectors and make them more competitive.
“The two Google Cloud regions will support the digital and economic growth of our country for decades to come, serving Italian businesses that want to pursue transformation objectives like Intesa Sanpaolo.”
