Willis, a business of WTW, has launched a new global digital infrastructure group aimed at helping clients manage the full spectrum of risks tied to data centres and related assets, in a move that reflects a broader strategic shift among major brokers toward specialised infrastructure capabilities.

The new unit, led by Alastair Swift, brings together specialists from construction, energy, cyber, supply chain, analytics and risk engineering to provide advisory and risk transfer solutions spanning the entire data-centre lifecycle - from site selection and construction through to power resilience, catastrophe exposure and operational continuity.

Swift said the initiative is designed to help clients keep pace with the sector’s rapid growth and evolving risk landscape, adding that integrated expertise enables tailored solutions that “protect physical assets, strengthen financial resilience, and support reliable operations at scale.”

Industry-wide race to build data centre specialism

The launch comes amid rising competition among global brokers to position themselves as strategic partners to hyperscalers, investors and operators amid surging demand for digital infrastructure.

Aon, for example, recently expanded its proprietary Data Center Lifecycle Insurance Program, increasing total capacity to about $2.5 billion and creating a unified structure that spans construction through operation while combining cyber, property and cargo coverages to address traditionally fragmented risk placement.

Meanwhile, Marsh has also been developing targeted solutions for operators seeking to safeguard digital assets and manage emerging exposures tied to growing demand for data-centre capacity.

Taken together, these moves suggest a broader market trend: large brokers are increasingly investing in specialist teams, proprietary frameworks and integrated placements to capture share in a segment seen as one of the fastest-growing commercial insurance opportunities globally.

Lifecycle risk focus reflects client demand

Willis said its new group will support clients across the ecosystem - including owners, contractors and cloud providers - by helping them:

strengthen long-term resilience and competitiveness
reduce operational disruption
optimise balance-sheet protection
support sustainable growth
safeguard reputation and stakeholder confidence

The firm added that the cross-functional structure is designed to deliver end-to-end risk solutions rather than siloed coverage lines, mirroring client demand for holistic advisory as digital infrastructure projects grow larger, more complex and more capital-intensive.

Strategic positioning in a growth market

The formation of the unit builds on Willis’ previously introduced data-centre risk management framework and underscores how brokers are repositioning themselves from traditional intermediaries toward strategic advisers in infrastructure ecosystems.

WTW said its global network spanning about 140 countries enables it to combine local market knowledge with multinational placement expertise - capabilities that are becoming increasingly critical as digital-infrastructure investments expand across jurisdictions and regulatory regimes.

It appears that brokers are racing to assemble multidisciplinary teams and proprietary tools capable of handling the unique blend of property, cyber, construction, power and supply-chain exposures that define modern data-centre risk.