The expansions build on the significant global growth Equinix experienced in 2016, during which the company opened new data centers in key economic hubs including Dallas, Sydney and Tokyo, and integrated the acquisitions of Bit-isle in Japan and Telecity Group in Europe. By providing additional capacity in 2017, Equinix continues to play an important role in helping companies to extend their IT operations to the digital edge through the interconnection of people, locations, clouds and data.
2017 Openings
Five New IBX Data Center Openings in 2017 -- Throughout 2017, Equinix will open five new IBX data centers, adding more than 5,600 new cabinets and greater than one million gross square feet of data center space. The new sites will be directly connected to other Equinix IBX data centers within each metro via fiber links between the sites.
o S?o Paulo – S?o Paulo is the financial and business capital of Brazil and the main data center market in the country. The first phase of the new SP3 IBX, opened in March, adds 725 cabinets and more than 215,000 gross square feet of data center space in 2017. At full buildout, SP3 will double Equinix's available space in Brazil, making SP3 the largest multi-tenant data center in Latin America. Equinix is home to the densest concentration of network carriers in Brazil and its S?o Paulo data centers are in close proximity to the Bovespa stock exchange, offering direct connectivity to a large number of financial firms. With the addition of SP3, Equinix currently operates five IBX data centers in Brazil. [press release]
o Frankfurt – Frankfurt is one of Europe’s leading financial centers and a hub for banking, commerce and manufacturing. Equinix’s IBX data centers in Frankfurt offer dense concentrations of telecommunications, cloud and IT services, financial services and manufacturing companies. Equinix’s sixth IBX in Frankfurt, FR6, is expected to open in Q2 2017 and is a new build that will be part of Campus Kleyer, one of the most carrier dense digital locations in EMEA. The first phase of FR6 will add 1,325 cabinets and more than 72,000 gross square feet of data center space in 2017.
o Amsterdam – The AM4 IBX, expected to open in Q3 2017, is a new 12-story building that expands Equinix’s Amsterdam footprint which currently consists of seven sites. The first phase of AM4 will add 1,555 cabinets and more than 245,000 gross square feet of data center space in 2017. At its existing sites in Amsterdam, Equinix currently offers connections to 80% of Europe within 50 milliseconds and is one of the most cloud dense locations in Europe. Equinix’s Amsterdam operations also offer the opportunity to connect to large numbers of enterprises, content and digital media companies and providers of financial, cloud and IT services, and Internet service providers.
o Silicon Valley – Located adjacent to its existing SV1 and SV5 IBX data centers at Equinix’s San Jose Great Oaks campus, SV10 is expected to open in Q2 2017. The first phase of SV10 will add 795 cabinets and more than 190,000 gross square feet of data center space in 2017. It is the first build on 11 acres of land purchased by Equinix in 2016. Equinix data centers in the Silicon Valley area serve 600+ customers and represent the largest retail colocation footprint and densest interconnectivity in the Silicon Valley region, with many mature business ecosystems to match customers with the right business partners.
o Washington, D.C. – The DC12 IBX, expected to open in Q3 2017, is an extension to Equinix’s existing Ashburn campus. The first phase of DC12 will add 1,275 cabinets and more than 190,000 gross square feet of data center space in 2017. It is the first build on 44 acres of land purchased by Equinix in 2012. Equinix currently operates 10 IBX data centers in the Washington, D.C. metro with more than 500,000 square feet of colocation space. These facilities are a major communications gateway to Europe and the largest Internet peering point in North America.
· 2017 Expansions of Existing IBX Data Centers -- In addition to the five new IBX openings in 2017, Equinix expansions of existing IBX data centers include 14 projects that will open in 2017 in Amsterdam, Dallas, Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Toronto and Zurich.
Additional Expansion Activity
· Land Acquisition for Future Development – As announced on March 2, Equinix has acquired 34.5 acres of undeveloped land in Ashburn, VA to further expand the company’s data center and interconnection campus, which currently consists of eight IBX data centers. The acquisition of this property will provide Equinix with room to build multiple new greenfield IBX data centers in this densely interconnected location.[press release]
· Acquisition of London Data Center – As announced on February 6, Equinix has purchased IO UK's data center operating business in Slough, United Kingdom. The facility, which will be renamed LD10, is in close proximity to Equinix's existing Slough data center campus. This addition will grow the number of data centers in London to eight, and with the existing footprint of four data centers in Manchester, it will help meet growing demand for digital infrastructure connectivity in the United Kingdom and Europe. [press release]
· Acquisition of Zurich Data Center – As announced on February 28, Equinix has entered into an agreement for the purchase of ICT-Center AG, Zurich's data center operating business in Zurich, Switzerland. The facility, which is adjacent to Equinix's existing Zurich IBX data centers – ZH2 and ZH4 – provides Equinix with the ability to expand its ZH4 IBX data center to further enable interconnection in this key European metro. [press release]
