Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX), a provider of global data center services, today announced the completion of the second phase of its second International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data center in Hong Kong (HK2) to align with surging market demand from cloud providers and the financial services industry. The additional investment of US$48.9 million underpins Equinix’s long-term commitment to data center development in Hong Kong and the wider APAC region. This expansion brings the total investment amount to US$72 million.
Located in the western part of the New Territories region, the second phase of HK2 adds 1,000 cabinets to the data center, bringing the total capacity to 1,450 cabinets. Together with the completed acquisition of Asia Tone, a Hong Kong-based data center provider, Equinix has significantly expanded its presence in the APAC region, extending Platform Equinix™ to a total of 105 data centers across the globe.
“The data center is now the backbone of any company operating in the digital economy. Companies are either selling digital goods and services or relying heavily on the Internet for employee productivity and other business applications. As a result, we are seeing strong demand in Asia Pacific, making it our fastest growing region,” said Samuel Lee, president, Equinix APAC. “Today’s expansion of HK2, in conjunction with the recent completion of the Asia Tone acquisition, marks a momentous milestone for Equinix, and underscores its dedication to fostering data center development in the region.”
According to research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, the financial services, trading and logistics, information technology, telecommunications, and content development and media industries account for more than 84 percent of the total demand for data center space in Hong Kong. Overall the research firm estimates that the demand for data center services in Hong Kong will grow by a compound annual growth rate of 9.8 percent from 2009 to 2015.
“Hong Kong is an important regional hub for multi-national companies. To address the ever-growing demand for data center services in the city, Equinix has continued to expand its data center capacity and services in Hong Kong since entering the market more than twelve years ago. Companies around the globe deploying in Equinix can take advantage of the expanded footprint to develop their businesses in the region quickly and easily. The HK2 IBX data center is a revitalization of an industrial building, which perfectly aligns with the data center initiatives recently announced by Hong Kong SAR Government,” said Alex Tam, managing director, Equinix Greater China.
The HK2 IBX data center offers a wide range of premium data center services including colocation, interconnection and peering and direct cross connect between networks. Companies deployed in HK2 can leverage Equinix’s network-dense and carrier neutral platform to access to a vast ecosystem of partners and potential customers, enabling them to maximize business opportunities within the data center. Customers will also have access to the Equinix Marketplace, giving them the ability to discover new partners and locate services where they are required.
Current customers in Hong Kong include financial services companies like IRESS, as well as cloud service providers such as BrightHost and Carpathia Hosting.
To address the growing demand for data center services in APAC, Equinix also this month announced the expansion of its second IBX data center (SG2) in Singapore. Last year Equinix opened three new IBXs in Hong Kong, Sydney and Tokyo.