Over the past years, the real estate industry has faced unprecedented disruption driven by digitisation, remote work, and shifting urban dynamics. In this changing landscape, what motivated DE-CIX to explore the intersection of digital infrastructure and real estate?
The study “The Iberian Peninsula: a Next-Generation Mega-Hub” was conceived with the aim of offering a strategic vision to all sectors involved in the digital infrastructure ecosystem, highlighting the unique competitive advantages of the Iberian region. From this perspective, we identified that Spain and Portugal—far from being peripheral—form a robust, integrated, and highly complementary digital infrastructure that allows the Peninsula to be understood as a next-generation megahub.
Our motivation arose from a growing global awareness that digital infrastructure is no longer an auxiliary component of economic development, but a central driver of territorial transformation and long-term investment planning. Connectivity determines not just how fast data travels—it shapes how companies choose locations, how cities grow sustainably, and how entire regions position themselves in the global economy.
Initially designed as an analytical tool for technology stakeholders, network operators, data centers, and digital planning authorities, we soon realized that its findings held great value for the real estate sector. Digitalisation, remote work, and new urban dynamics are radically reshaping space usage, mobility patterns, and location preferences. In this context, showcasing connectivity as a strategic asset becomes essential—not only to understand today’s realities but to plan for tomorrow’s needs.
At DE-CIX, we felt it was time to initiate a cross-sectoral dialogue and offer a shared framework that bridges digital and physical infrastructure. By proposing a comprehensive, data-driven reading of the territory, we invite real estate investors, developers, and policymakers to see digital interconnection not as a technical layer, but as a foundational axis of value creation and resilience.
Your white paper presented a new lens to evaluate asset quality—adding connectivity as a foundational pillar alongside location, design, and ESG. Can you elaborate on the key findings that surprised you the most, and how these insights can reshape real estate investment decisions?
The most significant finding of the report was the empirical confirmation of DE-CIX’s strategic vision: to understand the Iberian Peninsula as a unified digital entity. This validation gave rise to the concept of a “next-generation megahub,” a model based on the complementarity of multiple interconnected metropolitan areas—Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Bilbao, Sines, and others—combined with robust infrastructure such as undersea cables, carrier-neutral Internet Exchanges, and edge and hyperscale data centers.
What makes this finding particularly powerful is that it challenges the traditional perception of Iberia as a digital periphery and positions it instead as a strategic node in the global digital economy. Its geographic location enables optimal East-West and North-South data traffic flows, linking Europe with Africa, the Americas, and beyond. In fact, very few regions in the world offer this kind of geopolitical and infrastructural alignment.
From a real estate perspective, this opens up a new lens through which to view asset quality and development potential. Areas close to critical connectivity infrastructure, once considered marginal, now stand out as premium sites for data centers, tech parks, logistics hubs, and smart urban developments. This shift creates opportunities not only for traditional investors but also for institutional funds seeking long-term, resilient, and sustainable assets.
Moreover, this redefinition of “location” complements ESG frameworks by adding a layer of digital sustainability and operational resilience. Connectivity enables smarter energy use, remote monitoring, efficient transport logistics, and real-time service integration—features that add tangible value to both users and investors. In short, when connectivity is placed alongside location, design, and ESG in asset evaluation, it equips decision-makers with a more comprehensive and future-proof approach.
Producing forward-thinking, data-backed research often requires cross-sector collaboration and a strong methodological backbone. Could you tell us more about the research process behind the white paper and how DE-CIX ensures the relevance and accuracy of its thought leadership?
DE-CIX has extensive experience in developing strategic research, in line with its role as the world’s leading interconnection operator, with a presence in over 60 cities across four continents. Beyond our technical expertise, we are increasingly called upon to provide insight into how connectivity shapes economic geographies and future-proof urban development. This is part of our mission to act not only as a service provider but also as a trusted neutral advisor in the digital ecosystem.
The methodology behind this white paper was originally tested in our landmark study on Dubai—“The Birth of an International Internet Hub”—which became a reference model for how cities and regions can position themselves as global connectivity nodes. That study provided the framework for a data-driven, multi-criteria analysis, which we have since refined and applied to different territories.
In the case of the Iberian Peninsula, the research process was carried out through a collaborative structure involving internationally recognised experts in digital infrastructure—Paul Rendek and Serge Radovcic—as well as DE-CIX’s internal research team and regional leadership in Southern Europe. This blend of internal and external expertise ensured that the process was both rigorous and multidimensional.
Our approach integrates technical metrics (such as latency, throughput, and interconnection density) with territorial indicators (urban hierarchy, infrastructure deployment, policy frameworks, and data centers investment trends). Each element was tested against real-world deployments and use cases to ensure practical relevance.
Above all, the principle of neutrality—central to DE-CIX’s operating philosophy—was maintained throughout. We are a carrier- and data center-neutral entity, which enables us to provide objective analysis free from market bias. This credibility is what allows our thought leadership to resonate with both public and private decision-makers, offering them a grounded and actionable perspective on the digital economy’s intersection with real estate and infrastructure development.
Within a jury of over 50 recognised professionals of the Iberian real estate sector, your initiative was voted the RESEARCH OF THE YEAR in 2025. What does this public recognition represent to DE-CIX?
A source of great pride and a deeply meaningful validation for DE-CIX. This recognition is more than just a reward—it is a signal that our efforts to build bridges between disciplines are both necessary and timely. It acknowledges that digital infrastructure is now central to the long-term competitiveness of regions and nations, and that real estate professionals are increasingly aware of the need to integrate this dimension into their planning and investment logic.
This award also affirms our role as a thought leader and neutral partner in a rapidly evolving ecosystem. We are proud to be contributing not only with interconnection services but also with ideas, frameworks, and research that help both public and private sectors navigate the future of urban and economic development.
Moreover, this recognition strengthens our belief that the Iberian Peninsula is entering a new phase in its digital maturity. The visibility generated by this study—and by this award—provides momentum for further collaboration across sectors: infrastructure, energy, logistics, real estate, and policy. We see this as a starting point for more projects that integrate connectivity into spatial strategies, land use planning, and long-term asset development.
Ultimately, this accolade encourages us to continue producing research that is independent, data-backed, and impact-oriented—research that doesn’t just describe the future but helps shape it.