Equinix (EQIX) announced the launch of its newest data center in Shanghai to address the strong demand for premium data center services in China from global customers looking to expand in the market.
Last May Equinix acquired Hong Kong-based data center provider Asia Tone to expand its presence in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. Asia Tone's Shanghai facility was under construction at the time of the deal and is now complete. The first phase of Equinix's fifth Shanghai (SH5) data center will provide 200 cabinet equivalents, expanding to 900 with a gross area of 80,000 square feet when all three phases of SH5 are completed. The Shanghai facility will offer colocation, Smart Hands services, and 24x7 support and installation assistance.
“Our expansion in China is a strategic move to meet strong demand for premium data center services from our customers around the globe. China is one of the fastest growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region and a priority market for many multinational companies,” said Alex Tam, managing director, Equinix Greater China. “In addition, the PRC government’s twelfth, five-year plan announced in 2011 encouraged enterprises to adopt new technologies, such as cloud computing technology.
"This will inevitably result in tremendous demand in the market for data center services that deliver high-performance and availability," Tam continued. "As a leading global data center service provider, Equinix will continue expanding Platform Equinix to support our customers’ business needs with our global data center footprint.”
Equinix expects a strong data center services market in China, which is the most requested market for Equinix customers looking to expand globally. Equinix recently completed the second phase of its second data center in Hong Kong (HK2) to align with surging market demand from cloud providers and the financial services industry.
“With Shanghai expected to be the global financial center by 2020, the market requires a reliable data center service provider with international experience to provide a highly secure, available and robust data center service. With established financial ecosystems in major financial centers around the world, Equinix is able to support mission-critical financial services applications to ensure business continuity," said Tam.
