Mercadona renews the brain of its 1,670 stores to make them power-proof.
The "brain" that ensures the smooth operation of Mercadona's more than 1,670 stores is undergoing a complete overhaul. These are the so-called Data Processing Centers (DPCs) , a critical infrastructure that, with the capacity to withstand natural disasters, features additional cooling systems and access controlled by biometric analysis.
The Valencian company, a market leader in Spain, is already working on the renovation of its two centers, located in Albalat del Sorells (Valencia) and Villadangos (León). This is a "strategic" project for the company, in which it plans to invest 20 million euros . Mercadona is collaborating with approximately 15 national and international technology suppliers.
Data centers are essential for the proper functioning of supermarkets. Not surprisingly, they house, manage, and operate the information and communications technology systems that allow supermarkets to open daily. What does this mean? "Our data centers ensure that, when the shutters of our more than 1,600 stores are opened, they have the necessary products tailored to the demand we expect that day," says Juanjo López , Mercadona's IT Security and Infrastructure Coordinator.
In this sense, the data centers are where the "core applications" that support Mercadona's processes are executed. "Among many other processes, the data centers consolidate sales, centralize store and warehouse stock, prepare sales and order forecasts, place orders with warehouses and suppliers... and most operations are executed in real time," López summarizes.
The renovation process has already begun and will be fully completed in 2026. The teams responsible for this renovation have already completed the design and equipment procurement phases, which will be complemented by the end of the year with the installation of the machines in parallel with the current data centers. The applications will be migrated to the new equipment in 2026.
This process, which the company implements approximately every six years , aims to ensure that Mercadona always works with the most cutting-edge technology. In fact, more than 300 core applications for the company pass through the data centers.
Blackout-proof"Having our own data centers allows us to have maximum control over our infrastructure, providing them with the appropriate security and redundancy measures for any event. In cases like the recent blackout , this allowed us to continue operating with complete autonomy, serving our managers, as we at Mercadona refer to our customers," notes Mercadona's Security and IT Infrastructure Coordinator, who adds: "Even so, we dedicate a lot of effort and resources to reinforcing the IT system we have in each store , so that it can continue functioning in the event of a possible communication outage or incident at the data centers."
For now, Mercadona's two centers are ready to support the company's growth, although, as López summarizes, the evolution of the chain's business will determine its data storage and processing needs. While the Albalat data center was launched in 2014, the Villadangos data center did so in 2019.
In logistics blocks"Today, the buildings that house them have enough room for growth so that, in the short or medium term, we don't consider opening new data centers," explains López. However, they are not the only ones supporting the company. "In addition to our two main data centers, each of our 17 logistics blocks has its own 'mini data centers.' This allows us to ensure that the block can continue operating normally in the event of a potential disconnection from the data centers," he notes.
The renovation of the data centers ultimately allows for the company's technological improvement. Some examples, Mercadona notes, include process automation, resilience, maximum environmental control, and enhanced cybersecurity, as well as the expansion of computing capacity (in the case of the new data centers, this would be the equivalent of all the books, magazines, newspapers, and manuscripts published, digitized, and stored). "This new infrastructure also facilitates the company's commitment to the hybrid cloud. This complete renovation project also allows us to avoid technological obsolescence and achieve greater security and control over the infrastructure," they explain.
The company's planned investment in infrastructure (servers, communications equipment, security equipment, etc.) is similar to the previous renewal. However, there are some changes compared to the previous renewal. "Unlike in 2017, in this technological renewal process we have opted for CNA-based development architectures (cloud-oriented). Every new application that is created and any that we reengineer, we build with CNA architecture. Thanks to this change, we have been deploying our applications in hybrid format in our data centers (private cloud) and also in the public cloud for several years now. Hence, the investment in data centers has not increased, because we have grown in the public cloud," explains López.
In January, Mercadona announced the launch of its Digital Excellence Plan, with an investment of more than €250 million to be implemented between 2025 and 2028. This plan will allow the company to "continue advancing the technological reengineering of its various business processes to gain agility and efficiency," they explain.
The renovation of Mercadona's data centers is being carried out almost entirely in-house . "The design and implementation of this project, which has a significant impact on the organization, is being developed with the talent of highly specialized profiles from Mercadona IT, such as network, systems, database, cloud , and cybersecurity administrators," explains Juanjo López, Mercadona's IT Security and Infrastructure Coordinator.
In fact, one of the most significant differences compared to the previous renewal lies in who is responsible for making these changes. In 2017, "we carried out the design, implementation, and migration associated with the project with the support of 80% suppliers. Today, we are doing so with 90% specialized technicians from Mercadona , as the team has grown from 300 to 1,200 professionals during this period," notes López.
Mercadona IT has consolidated its position in recent years precisely with the goal of internally managing the company's digital modernization strategy. Its professionals specialize in areas such as software development and architecture, cybersecurity, DevOps, data management, product management , cloud computing , IT infrastructure, UX/UI design, and device management and software procurement.
This team works "in coordination" with the owners of the different business areas to " design, implement, and maintain the technological solutions that drive Mercadona," the company explains. The company has developed applications that have allowed it to streamline decision-making, contributing to product innovation; create intelligent and efficient systems to optimize costs and boost productivity in logistics blocks; and digitally control product traceability, among other things.
Expansion
