INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centers
Equinix and GIC to add US $ 3.9 billion to expand xScale Data Center Program
Equinix has announced agreements for additional joint ventures in the form of limited liability partnerships with GIC , Singapore ’ s sovereign wealth fund , which when closed and built out will bring the xScale Data Center Portfolio to greater than US $ 6.9 billion across 32 facilities globally . xScale data centers add to Equinix ’ s global platform of more than 220 International Business Exchange ( IBX ) data centers by serving the unique core workload deployment needs of a targeted group of hyperscale companies , including the world ’ s largest cloud service providers . After deal closing and buildout , the xScale data center portfolio will span three regions :
• Europe : Dublin ( three xScale data centers ), Frankfurt ( five xScale data centers ), Helsinki ( one xScale data center ), London ( two xScale data centers ), Madrid ( two xScale data centers ), Milan ( one xScale data center ), Paris ( four xScale data centers ) and Warsaw ( one xScale data center ).
• Asia-Pacific : Osaka ( three xScale data centers ) and Tokyo ( three xScale data centers ).
• Americas : Mexico City ( one xScale data center ) and São Paulo ( three xScale data centers ).
• Three additional sites are expected to be announced at a future date .
Charles Meyers , CEO of Equinix , said : “ For years , the world ’ s largest cloud service providers , including Alibaba Cloud , Amazon Web Services , Google Cloud , IBM Cloud , Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure , have partnered with Equinix to leverage its global platform of more than 220 data centers to directly connect to their strategic business partners and customers .
“ With our xScale program , these hyperscalers can continue to grow at Equinix while in close proximity to an ecosystem of 10,000 customers . The joint venture arrangement of xScale enables these large deployments to be structured in an off-balance sheet model that aims to preserve capital for investment in our traditional retail data center and digital infrastructure business and maintain our strategic and financial flexibility .”
Highlights
• It is expected that the xScale portfolio of 32 facilities will provide more than 600 megawatts ( MW ) of power capacity when fully built out .
• With xScale data centers , hyperscale companies can add core deployments to their existing access point footprints at Equinix , enabling their growth on a single platform that can immediately span 63 global metros and offer direct interconnection – within a vibrant set of ecosystems – to their customers and strategic business partners .
• Platform Equinix features more than 40 % of the private on-ramps to the top global cloud service providers – more than any other provider . As hyperscale companies scale their operations at Equinix , the ecosystem of nearly 10,000 enterprises and other companies currently operating at Equinix benefit from increased opportunities to directly connect and operate in proximity to the largest global cloud operators .
• Equinix is a leader in data center sustainability and is greening the supply chains of its customers . Equinix ’ s long-term goal of using 100 % clean and renewable energy for its global platform has resulted in significant increases in renewable energy coverage globally . Equinix has continued to make advancements in the way it designs , builds and operates its data centers with high energy-efficiency standards and all xScale data centers will be LEED certified ( or regional equivalent certification ).
• The JV projects in this announcement are expected to close in several waves over the course of 2021 , pending regulatory approval and other closing conditions . p
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