Slashing Cloud Waste? How HPE GreenLake Transformed Italy’s Telecom Giant

When Fastweb’s cloud division hit scaling limits, their infrastructure groaned under three silent killers: unpredictable service deployment cycles, spiraling energy costs, and carbon footprint penalties. The Italian telco’s answer wasn’t more servers—it was Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s GreenLake. Here’s how this edge-to-cloud platform rewrote the rulebook for 6.1 million customers and why network architects should care.

The Ticking Time Bombs in Fastweb’s Infrastructure​

Fastcloud’s pre-GreenLake reality mirrors what many service providers face today:

•​Over-Provisioning Nightmares: 40% idle capacity during off-peak hours, yet scrambling during SaaS demand spikes

•​Energy Drains: Cooling costs eating 22% of operational budgets

•​Deployment Delays: 6-week lead times for new client onboarding

HPE’s consumption-based model attacked these pain points at the root—turning fixed CAPEX into flexible OPEX.

GreenLake’s Triple-Play Advantage: Beyond the Hype​

1.​Operational Agility​

•​Zero-Capacity Guessing: Pay-per-use for compute/storage with 1-hour provisioning

•​Automated Governance: Unified compliance across hybrid environments (IaaS to SaaS)

•​Real-Time Cost Visibility: Per-project resource tracking slashed billing disputes by 65%

2.​Carbon Accountability​

•Energy-efficient ARM-based servers (30% less watts per VM)

•Dynamic power capping during low utilization

•Result: 19% lower carbon emissions YoY

3.​Security by Design​

•Siloed workloads with hardware-enforced isolation

•Automated patching for 1500+ Fastcloud VMs

•Integrated threat hunting via HPE Aruba ClearPass

The Migration Blueprint: Lessons from Fastcloud’s Transition​

Fastweb’s 11-month transformation followed three non-negotiables:

1.​Workload Tiering:

•Mission-critical apps → Dedicated GreenLake nodes
•Dev/Test environments → Shared consumption pools
2.​Partner Ecosystem Leverage:
•Npo Sistemi’s integration expertise cut deployment time by half
•Custom API bridges between Fastcloud’s legacy monitoring and GreenLake
3.​Financial Engineering:
•​Before: $3.2M upfront CAPEX + 28% annual maintenance
•​After: $1.1M/year all-in OPEX with 99.95% uptime SLA

Why This Matters for Network Architects​

Fastweb’s win isn’t about cloud—it’s about orchestration. GreenLake’s secret weapon? The ​Composable Fabric.

​Traditional Network​

Switch → Firewall → Load Balancer → Server

(Fixed capacity, manual configs)

​GreenLake Fabric​

Automated VLAN provisioning

Dynamic QoS for SaaS traffic

Security micro-segmentation

API-driven resource stitching

This composability reduced Fastcloud’s service deployment cycles from 42 days to 72 hours.

The Italian Edge: How Npo Sistemi Closed the Gaps​

HPE’s local partner delivered what global vendors couldn’t:

•​Language-Centric Support: Italian-speaking engineers for critical incidents

•​Custom Compliance Packs: GDPR/KYC workflows pre-baked into deployments

•​Hybrid Monitoring: On-prem sensors feeding into GreenLake’s AIOps

Result: 31% faster ticket resolution versus previous providers.

Cold Hard Numbers: GreenLake’s 5-Year ROI​

Note: 78% of savings came from rightsizing alone—not just newer hardware.

Your Network’s GreenLake Readiness Checklist​

Before considering HPE’s model:

Audit workload volatility (peak vs. average demand)

Calculate stranded power/cooling costs

Map compliance requirements per jurisdiction

Test API compatibility with existing tools

Avoid Fastweb’s early mistake: migrating monolithic ERP systems first. Start with stateless web apps.

​Beyond Fastweb: Where Consumption Models Dominate​

GreenLake’s sweet spot isn’t just telcos—it’s any environment with:

•​Unpredictable Growth: Retail IoT deployments

•​Regulatory Pressures: Healthcare data lakes

•​Distributed Edge: Manufacturing plant networks

One auto parts supplier reduced remote site switch costs by 44% using GreenLake’s zero-touch provisioning.

Final Takeaway: The Cloud Bill Shock Antidote​

Fastweb’s partnership proves HPE GreenLake isn’t another cloud—it’s an operating system for hybrid infrastructure. By treating compute, storage, and networking as composable services, they achieved:

•​Cost Certainty: No more surprise $500K quarterly bills

•​Architectural Freedom: Mix bare-metal, VMs, and containers freely

•​Sustainability Gains: Meeting 2025 EU carbon targets early

For network teams drowning in switch sprawl and power budgets, telecomate.com offers HPE GreenLake-certified switches with consumption pricing—where you only pay for the ports you activate monthly. Explore inventory and real-world case studies to redefine your network economics.