Enterprise-grade data platform deployed in under six months
Fast-tracked projects: Omnibus project delivered in just two months
AI Program and Center of Excellence empowering +400 employees
Cloud technologies accelerated innovation with over 70%+ of ICT into strategic value
35% Opex savings achieved over a five-year horizon
Unieuro partnered with Google Cloud to modernize its IT infrastructure, enabling an advanced data platform and supporting the allocation of over 70% of its ICT investments to cloud-based and AI innovation projects.
Unieuro partnered with Google Cloud to modernize its IT infrastructure, enabling an advanced data platform and supporting the allocation of over 70% of its ICT investments to cloud-based and AI innovation projects.
A data platform to advance retail strategies, delivering greater value to customers and stakeholders
The Google Cloud Data Platform enabled us to turn innovation into real business value — fast.
Luigi Pontillo
CIO, Unieuro
As Italy's leading consumer electronics retailer, Unieuro is reshaping its business through a bold digital transformation aligned with its "Beyond Everyday" vision — moving from transactional sales to personalized, service-led experiences across a unified omnichannel journey.
At the heart of this shift is the Unieuro Data Platform, built on Google Cloud, enabling next-gen data capabilities, AI integration, and a future-proof IT backbone. "It is how we turned innovation into real business value — fast," says CIO Luigi Pontillo.
With BigQuery, Unieuro processed over 20 billion price combinations, meeting operational and regulatory demands like the Omnibus project in just two months, which is a 60% reduction in time — a clear example of speed meeting precision.
The integration of platforms like SAP with BigQuery enhanced data consistency and enabled the development of strategic data products tailored to different business functions.
But this was not just a tech revamp — it was a strategic reinvention. The platform democratized data access, empowered teams, and accelerated Unieuro's transition into a truly data-driven and AI-supported organization. Delivered in just over a year, the initiative balanced Capex and Opex to support long-term, scalable growth.
Today, over 70% of Unieuro's ICT budget fuels cloud-native innovation — powering hyper-personalized services, real-time customer insights, and seamless integration between online and in-store experiences.
Beyond the technology, the shift to Google Cloud ignited a company-wide data culture, embedding data and AI as a core strategic asset across the business and boosting customer centricity.
Generative AI and automation: Driving innovation in business processes
Unieuro is advancing its digital transformation with Vertex AI, applying generative AI across legal, backoffice, retail operations, and training. This strategic move has led to the creation of an internal AI Center of Excellence to foster collaboration and partnering for AI innovation across processes and use cases.
AI is now embedded in day-to-day operations: chatbots support more than 100 employees within different offices with knowledge tools and automation that helps in efficiency. In the legal area, a chatbot based on Gemini and Vertex AI, supports the exploration and interpretation of regulations.
Vertex AI and BigQuery have transformed both our data playground and how we use data across business.
Marco Pegolo
Head of Data, Unieuro
In back-office operations, this AI introduces automation into core daily processes to manage supplier contracts.
The data platform enables scalable adoption of gen AI across the organization also with the intent of supporting large digital transformation projects such as SAP implementation or ecommerce renovation.
Looking ahead, Unieuro is building forward-looking solutions like Recommendation AI and Search AI to deliver personalized experiences across its website and mobile app. Unieuro is also developing solutions to support in-store staff and streamline onboarding for more than 4,000 employees, while enterprise knowledge tools and internal process navigators have proven critical — especially during the SAP implementation.
With Google Cloud, Unieuro benefits from rapid development cycles and ability to meet GDPR compliance, supported by regionalized data storage in Italy, one of the services provided by Google Cloud. Vertex AI integrates seamlessly with BigQuery to enable secure, scalable, and high-performance deployment of AI solutions.
"Vertex AI and BigQuery have transformed both our workflows and how we use data across the business," says Marco Pegolo, Head of Data at Unieuro. In legal operations, generative AI tools monitor regulatory updates in real time, simplifying compliance and cutting through complexity.
Unieuro's AI strategy is grounded in speed, measurable impact, and industry-specific applications that clearly demonstrate business value.
Strategic partnership and measurable impact
The collaboration with Huware and Google Cloud has been a powerful catalyst for our innovation — sustainable, measurable, and tangible.
Luigi Pontillo
CIO, Unieuro
Unieuro's move to the cloud was more than a technical update — it was a strategic transformation enabled by a strong partnership with Google Cloud and trusted partner Huware.
"The collaboration with Huware and Google Cloud has been a powerful catalyst for our innovation — sustainable, measurable, and tangible," says CIO Luigi Pontillo.
Huware brought, in addition to the rest, deep FinOps expertise to the table, helping Unieuro optimize its investment strategy by balancing CapEx and OpEx. As a result, over 70% of the ICT budget was redirected toward cloud and innovation projects, without increasing operating costs.
"We avoided up to a 35% rise in recurring expenses, which would have been unavoidable with legacy infrastructure," Pontillo explains.
The Google Cloud Marketplace played a key role in speeding up software adoption, cutting implementation time, and increasing organizational agility. This adoption supported FinOps analysis and consistency. The cloud platform also enabled a full modernization of Unieuro's application architecture, while reinforcing data governance.
The shift to cloud has delivered measurable business impact and sparked a broader cultural evolution. "Cloud has become the engine of internal innovation — fueling new initiatives and reinforcing technology's strategic role in Unieuro's future," Pontillo adds.
Security, sustainability, and compliance embedded by design
Unieuro selected Google Cloud not only for its cutting-edge technology, but for its alignment with core values.
"The ability to store and manage data using an infrastructure-as-code approach to define global rules and policies was a decisive factor — especially for scaling data initiatives, handling personal data, and developing a unified omnichannel customer identity," says Marco Pegolo, Head of Data at Unieuro.
The company's data platform delivers both high performance and granular control over access and usage. Solutions like BigQuery, paired with data masking, IAM tagging, and comprehensive audit tools, enable robust, transparent, and GDPR-compliant data governance.
The ability to store and manage data within Italy was a decisive factor, especially for initiatives involving personal data and the development of a unified omnichannel customer identity.
Marco Pegolo
Head of Data, Unieuro
From a sustainability perspective, moving to the cloud has substantially reduced Unieuro's environmental footprint by eliminating energy-intensive on-premise infrastructure. It also helped the company avoid a projected 35% increase in IT maintenance costs over the next five years.
This design-first approach — embedding compliance, transparency, and accountability from day one with Google Cloud and Huware team — has given Unieuro a strong, scalable foundation for innovation, while reinforcing trust with users and business partners alike.
Unieuro is the Italian leader in the distribution of consumer electronics and household appliances, thanks to an omnichannel approach that integrates directly operated stores (about 250), affiliated stores (about 270) and the unieuro.it digital platform. The company is headquartered in Forlì and employs around 5,000 people all over Italy.
Industry: Retail
Location: Italy
Products: Google Cloud, GKE, GCVE, Compute Engine, Apigee, BigQuery, Vertex AI, Cortex, Identity Platform
About Google Cloud partner - Huware
Huware is a cloud consulting company that assists businesses in their digital transformation. It specializes in providing tailored solutions in areas like data analytics, generative AI, CRM, and collaboration, with a focus on people and sustainability.
