Equinix has signed with GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, a limited liability partnership deal for an initial $1-billion package to develop and operate xScale data centres in Europe.
The initial facilities in the joint venture will serve the core workload deployment needs of a targeted group of hyperscale companies, including the world’s largest cloud service providers.
These facilities, to be located on or near to some of Equinix’s existing IBX campuses, will allow these key enablers of digital transformation to streamline their continued growth, as enterprises increasingly embrace hybrid multicloud as the IT architecture of choice.
With xScale data centres, hyperscale companies will now be able to add core deployments at Equinix to their existing access point footprints, enabling their growth on a single platform that spans more than 50 global metros and offers direct interconnection to their customers and strategic business partners.
As hyperscale companies scale their operations at Equinix through xScale data centres and further leverage direct access to the business ecosystems of Equinix’s global platform, the “network effect” will also benefit other companies operating at Equinix, including companies with existing direct connections to hyperscale access points at Equinix.
The deployment of core hyperscale infrastructure at Equinix through xScale data centres is expected to serve as a magnet, attracting additional partners, application developers and other hyperscale vendors to Equinix’s ecosystem, increasing the choice and innovation opportunities for current Equinix customers.
While not a broader entry into the wholesale market, xScale data centres will focus on a targeted group of hyperscale companies that offer significant value to the existing Equinix cloud ecosystem.
Charles Meyers, president and CEO of Equinix, said partnering with GIC will provide the opportunity to make significant capital investments in order to capture targeted large-footprint deployments while continuing to optimise our capital structure.
“The JV structure will enable us to extend our cloud leadership while providing significant value to a critical set of hyperscale customers,” Meyers said. “We look forward to launching similar JVs in other operating regions and believe that these efforts will continue to further differentiate Equinix as the trusted centre of a cloud-first world.”
