Global interconnection and data center company Equinix is on another growth spurt in Hong Kong, committing more than US$40million to build the third phase of its second International Business Exchange data center (HK2) as well as the ninth phase of its first data center (HK1).
The expansion of both facilities is particularly being eyed to meet the strong demand from cloud providers as well as content and digital media (CDM) companies.
“With the strong momentum of cloud and content companies deploying in the city as well as DC services demand from worldwide customers, including many in China, it was a clear strategic business decision to expand in Hong Kong,” said Alex Tam, managing director, Equinix Hong Kong in an announcement made yesterday.
He added: “The investment in HK1 and HK2 further positions Hong Kong as an important regional hub, not only for financial services firm, but for cloud and content companies as well.”
The extensions are expected to open in Q4 of this year, adding an additional 1,175 cabinets to its capacity, which would help CDM customers cater to the local market’s huge appetite for online media and video content.
Indeed, based on a recent report issued two months ago by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 79% of the city’s population is active on the Internet, 66% is on social media and 64% is on mobile internet. Given this high penetration, CDM companies are deploying in Equinix’s HK data centers at a rapid rate to be in closer proximity to end users and for lower network latency to provide an optimal end-user experience.
Equinix claimed its CDM market has grown 16% year-on-year in 2014, with customers such as ChinaCache, Casale Media and MediaMath using the company’s DC facilities to gain access its ecosystem of more than 1,000 networks composed of telco carriers, mobile providers and ISPs such as China Unicom. These CDM customers are also deploying with Equinix to develop hybrid cloud environments with access to multiple clouds, including Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud as well as other platforms via Equinix Cloud Exchange,
The announcement of the US$40-million investment in new facilities came nearly a year after Equinix completed an expansion of its HK3 data center. It also follows a series of expansions in Asia Pacific, most recently with the opening of Equinix’s first DC in Melbourne in December 2014 and a third facility in Singapore in March of this year.