Digital infrastructure solutions in the colocation sector for digital native companies are expanding. Equinix is reaching out to digital native enterprises and developers with a service that offers the performance and edge access benefits of colocation and the flexibility of the cloud.

Equinix, a digital infrastructure solutions company, held a press conference at the Equinix Data Center (SL1) in Sangam-dong, Seoul on the 16th and shared insights into the data center industry, along with Equinix's performance in 2022 and future goals.

Last year, as Equinix sought to expand its platform globally, data centers were established in the Asia-Pacific region, including the JH1 data center in Johor, Malaysia, as well as in Jakarta, Indonesia (JK1) and Chennai, India (CN1), and in the Americas and Europe, in Bogota, Colombia (BG2), Montreal, Canada (MT2), Muscat, Oman (MC1), and Milan, Italy (ML5).

Currently, 49 new data centers, including nine xScale data centers, are under construction in 25 locations across 23 countries. In Korea, SL1 is operational in Sangam-dong, Seoul, and SL2x is being built nearby for hyperscale enterprises. Equinix has stated that it plans to build SL3x on an adjacent site in the future.

It was reported that SL2x, which broke ground last January, is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year, and additional XScale data centers providing a total power capacity of over 45 megawatts will be built through a joint venture worth $525 million (approximately 690 billion KRW), including SL2x currently under construction.

It was explained that these two XScale data centers support growth by providing comprehensive interconnection and access to digital services for hyperscalers such as Naver, Google, Tencent, and Alibaba.

In addition, Network Edge services, a Network Function Virtualization (NFV) service, are planned to be provided in Korea by 2023. Network Edge enables enterprises to deploy network services at predictable costs, establish strategies for building and scaling large-scale virtual infrastructure, and leverage best-in-class cloud connectivity.

Companies are utilizing security and network service ecosystems, such as VMware, Palo Alto Networks, and Check Point, to deploy network services faster even in countries where it is difficult to deploy physical hardware, and to enter more markets and provide services in a wider area through network edges that can connect to desired services within minutes.

Equinix has further expanded its market by providing Equinix Metal services to support enterprises in building digital infrastructure. Currently, in 25 countries worldwide, including Korea, companies have been able to benefit from colocation in terms of performance, control, and edge access through Metal services, while securing cloud benefits such as developer automation, OPEX models, and deployment flexibility.

Jang Hye-deok, CEO of Equinix Korea, emphasized, “Equinix has built a global ecosystem consisting of over 10,000 companies worldwide, with more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies currently participating,” adding that “we have achieved several positive indicators, including over 2,100 networks, over 3,000 cloud and IT service providers, and 80 consecutive quarters of revenue growth.”

Meanwhile, Equinix predicted that power consumption would increase due to the growing demand for artificial intelligence services such as ChatGPT and generative AI. Consequently, it stated that since available space may be reduced with traditional cooling methods, a transition to high-efficiency air cooling using liquid cooling technology would be essential for operating high-density server racks.