Equinix Announces Significant Expansion to Increase Data Center Capacity in Singapore

Equinix launches third data center and expands second facility to meet strong market demand for premium data center services in Singapore

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. & SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, today announced its plans to expand the company’s footprint in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region with development of a third International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) and expansion of its second data center. The expansion plan showcases Equinix’s success in addressing market demand from financial and cloud service providers and demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to the data center market in Singapore.

At a groundbreaking ceremony that was held this morning, Equinix announced that it has commissioned Mapletree Industrial Trust, a leading industrial real estate investment trust listed in Singapore, to develop the new Singapore IBX, known as SG3.

Highlights / Key Facts

• Scheduled to open in the second half of 2014, SG3 will further extend Platform Equinix™ to meet strong demand for premium interconnection and data center services in Singapore from financial and cloud companies. SG3 will provide approximately 385,000 square feet of gross floor area and 5,000 cabinets over multiple phases. With a proposed investment of US$50–US$55M¹, the first phase will provide 1,000 cabinets.
• At the same time, Equinix is investing US$55M in the fifth phase of its second Singapore IBX data center. The fifth phase of the expansion, which is expected to be available end of 2013, will provide 920 additional cabinets, bringing the total number of cabinets at this IBX data center to 4,176. It will also enable the provision of a high-connectivity, high-availability environment to support its customers’ cloud-based services.
• SG3 will be located in close proximity to Equinix’s existing SG1 data center, which is located at one-north, a 200-hectare development by JTC Corporation designed to host a cluster of world-class research facilities and business park space to support growth in the biomedical sciences, infocomm technology, media, physical sciences and engineering industries.
• SG3 and SG1 data centers will be interconnected through a dedicated fiber network, allowing customers in SG1 to expand their business within the Equinix platform. Direct tethering to SG1, which is the most network-dense data center in the country, enables customers in SG3 to interconnect as if they were in the same location.
• Recognizing financial customers’ need for network-rich infrastructure with robust security, scalable, low-cost and low-latency connectivity, SG3 will be compliant with guidelines introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in July 2012.
• SG3 will also feature Business Suites for existing and new customers in Singapore who require larger footprints. With Business Suites, Equinix can offer customers bespoke solutions and an option to tie their larger deployments for select applications into Platform Equinix without sacrificing reliability or access to carriers and the Equinix ecosystem.
• As the Singapore government continues to raise the bar in data center quality through eco-friendly initiatives that encourage the construction of green and modular facilities, Equinix has also pledged itself to driving sustainable technologies. In an effort to minimize energy consumption at these energy-intensive facilities, both SG2 and SG3 are designed with the aim of operating as energy-efficiently as possible.
• Some of the green features deployed at SG3 ― which are already implemented at SG2 ― include motion-activated LED lights, electrically commutated fans, an automated system that reduces a motor’s speed and power, as well as a cold aisle containment infrastructure that supports higher power density installations for more efficient cooling. Recycled NEWater is also used for cooling purposes, an energy-saving process that is aligned with the Singapore Government’s green initiatives. Additionally, a solar power system will be implemented, a feature unique to SG3.
• For its exemplary green initiatives, SG2 was recently presented with the Gold Plus award under the BCA-IDA Green Mark for Data Centers scheme. The first of its kind in Asia, the scheme assesses data centers in Singapore based on five key criteria ― energy efficiency, water efficiency, sustainable construction & management, indoor environment quality as well as other green features.

Quotes

• Jayson Goh, executive director of Infocomms and Media, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB): 
  “We warmly welcome Equinix’s decision to significantly expand its data center capacity in Singapore to meet the strong market demand for premium data center services. Equinix’s data center expansion will add to the vibrancy of the infocomms ecosystem here and further reinforce Singapore’s position as a global data management hub. We are confident that Equinix will be able to leverage Singapore’s market connectivity, global talent as well as our business-friendly environment, to enhance the delivery of services to its clients both in the region and globally.”

• Chris Lee, global head of market access, ABN AMRO Clearing: 
  “At ABN AMRO Clearing, our customers are our first priority, and we need service providers who can offer the ability to seamlessly enter and expand in multiple territories, and add value to our client base. Equinix is the perfect choice for us with its extensive reach in Asia-Pacific, and its track record of providing the highest quality services consistently through its global platform. We currently offer trading access, hosting and proximity across the globe covering multiple asset classes – delivered via our approximately 35 global data center locations and our vendor partners. Equinix is an integral part of that.”

• David Loke, general manager, ReadySpace:
  “Due to the success of our services, we were in need of high-performance and high-availability bandwidth options as well as a robust physical infrastructure that can scale to accommodate our growing demand for additional data center space,” said. “By deploying into Equinix’s Singapore center, ReadySpace can differentiate itself from other Web hosting providers by offering higher levels of uptime, as well as service level agreements for temperature, humidity and power which are not common in the IDC (Internet Data Center) market.”

• Tham Kuo Wei, chief executive officer, Mapletree Industrial Trust Management, the manager of Mapletree Industrial Trust:
  “We are pleased to embark on the development of SG3 as Equinix expands its presence in Singapore. We will build SG3 to meet BCA Green Mark and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards to underscore our commitment to environmentally sustainable developments .The partnership with Equinix also establishes Mapletree Industrial Trust as the preferred real estate partner for companies requiring high specification industrial facilities. We congratulate Equinix on this milestone event.”

• Samuel Lee, president, Equinix Asia Pacific:
  “Singapore is currently one of the fastest growing cloud adopters in Asia-Pacific, fueled by the rapid growth in adoption of social networking as well as the consumption of new forms of digital content. As a result, organizations including financial institutions here require an efficient, reliable and secure data center to support the growing number of digital platforms they use to serve their customers. We recognize the increasing demand for cloud and interconnection services as well as changing security requirements from both local and multinational organizations in Singapore. Our expansion is well-timed to meet strong market demand and will provide customers the ability to connect to an established ecosystem of existing and potential customers and partners.”

Keyword Tags

Equinix, data center, IBX, colocation

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX), connects more than 4,000 companies directly to their customers and partners inside the world’s most networked data centers. Today, businesses leverage the Equinix interconnection platform in 31strategic markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.www.equinix.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and developing IBX centers, including risks related to construction, project management and the delivery of services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure by Equinix to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time in the entities’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited respectively. In particular, see Equinix’s recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Both entities do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Equinix and IBX are registered trademarks of Equinix, Inc.
International Business Exchange is a trademark of Equinix, Inc.

______________________________

¹ Indicative number

PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date