Infrastructure of the Future: Innovation, Resilience and Competitiveness According to Senior Executive Luigi Ferraris
At the Camogli Communication Festival, Luigi Ferraris discusses the strategic role of energy, networks and data in Italy’s industrial transformation.
“Technological innovation, resilience and bankability: the challenges of tomorrow’s infrastructure ” was the focus of a panel discussion held at Terrazza Miramare as part of the Camogli Festival of Communication.
Moderated by Paola Boromei of Gruppo 24 Ore, the panel featured Luigi Ferraris, a senior executive with extensive experience across the energy, transport and telecommunications sectors who is now also active in banking, alongside Ugo Giordano, Chairman of RINA Prime Value Services.
The discussion focused on infrastructure as a key instrument of industrial policy and a critical driver of competitiveness for European countries. Energy grids, transport systems and telecommunications networks are no longer simply physical assets: they have evolved into technology-driven platforms powered by software, sensors and data, and must be resilient, secure and capable of adapting to an increasingly fast-changing environment.
Ferraris highlighted the close relationship between energy availability, innovation and the ability to attract investment, while also pointing to the opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence in network management and predictive maintenance.
Particular attention was also given to data protection, which has become an integral part of infrastructure security and competitiveness, as well as to the strategic role of data centres. Their development depends on access to competitively priced energy, adequate network capacity, fibre connectivity and a clear and predictable regulatory framework.
The discussion also addressed cybersecurity, technological sovereignty and project bankability, in a context where energy, digital infrastructure and computing capacity will increasingly need to be viewed as interconnected components of a single strategic ecosystem.
The transcription of the interview is avalable below:
In today’s highly volatile environment, we need solid, resilient infrastructure that is open to innovation and able to adapt.
The changes we are experiencing are extremely rapid, which brings us to a concept that may seem, in some respects, contradictory: infrastructure needs to be flexible.
Flexible infrastructure means having the physical asset, as we have traditionally understood it,
but also giving that asset a “brain” capable of adapting the infrastructure to changing needs.
And by that, I mean data management.
In the past, when we designed infrastructure — take an electricity substation, for example —
we focused on protecting it with physical barriers and security personnel.
Today, alongside the physical infrastructure, we also have data.
And data needs to be protected with the same level of care.
Capital, even today, is not the issue.
What we need is a clear regulatory framework, particularly when we are talking about long-term infrastructure.
This also enables you to build and develop the necessary skills, because stability allows you to invest.
Capital itself is not a risk. Regulatory clarity matters. Stability matters.
Resources become a risk when there is no continuity of investment, because you cannot develop them and you cannot plan for them.
What is missing is a long-term vision, long-term planning, and a time-to-market and execution model that remain consistent, regardless of who is in charge at any given time.
The key is long-term planning. It is a cultural issue, and it is also about having rules that stem from a long-term vision and long-term stability.
When you have spent years doing the kind of work I have done and meeting with investors, you realise that the most important value is stability. But not stability for its own sake. Stability in carrying programmes through.
*Information provided by the publicist.
If your brand or PR Agency sends out multiple advertorials (Media/ Press Releases) in a month, and would like all the advertorials to be Fully featured on iloveza.com at an Extremely Reasonable price,
AND/OR to Advertise your brand, email howzit@iloveza.com
