Equinix Hits 110,000 Cross-Connects

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The blue-lit interior of one of the rooms inside the new Equinix TY4 data center in Tokyo (Image: Equinix)

Here's a data point that illustrates the central role that Equinix has come to play in the Internet: The colocation provider recently disclosed that its data centers now house more than 110,000 cross-connects, the physical intersections between networks that make the Internet work. Each Equinix customer averages about 25 interconnections with other customers, the company said.

Equinix experienced 10 percent growth in interconnections in the 12 months that ended June 30, despite the fact that it divested 16 data centers to 365 Main during that period.

It's been a busy week for Equinix, which also opened a new data center in Tokyo and announced the appointment of Charles Meyers to the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer. The COO post was created as part of a reorganization to realign its global operations. Meyers had previously been President of the Americas for Equinix.    

"The changes we are making today will sharpen our global execution as we pursue our strategy to be the interconnection platform for the world’s leading businesses," said Steve Smith, President and CEO of Equinix. " In the role of COO, Charles will bring proven leadership and deep operating experience to the task of further aligning our global team for maximum effectiveness."

"As Equinix continues to grow, we must deliver compelling products and offers that provide clearly quantifiable value to our customers with the right balance between global consistency and local responsiveness," said Meyers. "I look forward to working with the leadership team in a new capacity to position Equinix for growth and enhance the way we serve our customers and present our company to the marketplace."

Last week Equinix opened its TY4 data center located in the Ōtemachi section of Tokyo. The company invested $43 million in the facility, which has a total capacity of 750 cabinet equivalents. TY4 is located in an earthquake-resistant building in one of the most secure locations in Tokyo with multiple anti-disaster measures.

"The opening of our fourth data center in Tokyo is in response to the ongoing high demand for interconnectivity, efficient space and power capacity we are experiencing from customers in the region," said Kei Furuta, managing director, Equinix Japan. "We already have some of the world's leading financial services firms, network providers, and cloud companies located in our existing facilities in Japan who are benefitting greatly from access to our established ecosystems within Platform Equinix. Our expanded presence in the market with TY4 further strengthens our twin-metro strategy, following our announcement last month to open our first data center in Osaka in the fourth quarter of this year. Customers in Tokyo will be able to benefit from access to sites in the two locations and take advantage of what the market has to offer."

Check out the Equinix Interconnections blog for some cool photos of the new TY4 facility.