The long wait is over. Today, we are thrilled to announce that Equinix, the world’s digital infrastructure company, is officially in India! This expansion sees the addition of two world-class, hyper connected data centers with over 350 existing customers — including the top cloud service providers and other major internet companies — in the important market of Mumbai. All this gives us a significant head start in the rapidly evolving Indian data center market. The beginning of our new chapter is exhilarating, and I am more than excited to be here on the ground and be part of Equinix’s exciting journey in entering this fast-growing strategic market for digital infrastructure.

This move is exciting for two key reasons. One is Equinix’s strong global footprint, which has seen several of our 10,000+ customers working with Equinix at multiple locations to deploy their IT infrastructure, many of whom are keen to expand into India. Equinix brings years of experience in serving the needs of multiple verticals with tailormade and differentiated solutions. The second exciting thing is, as a new member of Equinix, I am amazed and delighted to be working with a large group of futuristic thinkers and talented people. We share a mutual goal of achieving a sustainable future which, mixed with a diversity of thought, identity, experience, culture, background and proficiency, generates great innovation and business outcomes. Nothing can be better than working with an inclusive team dedicated to building the world’s largest interconnected ecosystem, something Equinix does so well.
 
Transforming a connected nation with digital initiatives

Considered one of the most vibrant economies in the world, India has set itself an ambitious goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025,[1] and “Digital India” initiatives are crucial to help achieve this target. Thanks to a variety of programs, local enterprises are becoming increasingly aware of the urgency of speeding up their digitalization, guided by prudent policies for data protection and data localization when it comes to data-driven innovations. Also, with COVID-19 pushing data and resources to the edge, business leaders have been forced to reconsider how they can architect their IT environment in an agile and secure manner.

Complementing this, the planned upcoming launch of India’s 5G network is set to accelerate the growth of data. Enterprises are not only looking for network stability, but more flexible and robust connectivity to handle data from widely distributed end users. This is boosting the data center market in India, as reflected by industry trends. According to Synergy Research, the data center market in India is expected to exceed US$2 billion in 2025 and continue to grow at a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next three years, the second-highest rate in the world.[2] Amidst this transformative period, Equinix is riding the crest of the digital wave.

Unlocking endless business opportunities with the world-class digital infrastructure in India

As the world’s digital infrastructure company, Equinix always tries to stay a step ahead of our customer and partner requirements by expanding our footprint in different countries. Even before we officially entered the India market, Equinix was supporting local enterprises and partners to accelerate their global journey. For many years, Equinix enabled them to deploy their infrastructures, applications and services closer to the edge to connect with customers across the world and stay ahead of the curve.

For multinationals, India has been at the top of their wish list for expansion, and that’s why we decided to go the extra mile with this acquisition as our first step to enter the market, to support our customers with the continuously expanding Platform Equinix and its ecosystems. Home to the critical IT infrastructure of numerous global organizations, the two data centers in India will provide 1,350 cabinets, with an additional 500 cabinets at full buildout. The facilities, dubbed MB1 and MB2, will add more than 90,000 square feet of colocation space to Platform Equinix when fully built, benefiting businesses in India with the ability to expand internationally and enabling multinational corporations pursuing growth and innovation in the Indian market.

With Equinix, companies can rapidly scale their infrastructure, easily adopt hybrid multicloud architectures and interconnect with more than 350 international brands and local companies in India. Customers in India can connect in real-time, directly and privately, to more than 10,000 companies, including more than 1,800 networks and 3,000 cloud and IT service providers, through Platform Equinix for increased performance, security and scale.

Evolving India towards a digital future

As one of the largest economies in Asia-Pacific, India presents unparalleled possibilities in the digital age. Extending Platform Equinix marks a notable milestone for us, and I am excited about the opportunities ahead. With our global footprint and the industry’s largest ecosystem, we are well-positioned to be a driving force of the digital revolution in India and we are committed to helping businesses leap forward domestically and globally. I am so pleased to be part of the Equinix family and I look forward to joining hands with our customers and partners to achieve new heights in the digital era.

[1] The Hindu

[1] Norton Rose Fulbright, Data Protection Report, Data Privacy Day 2020 – Canadian Privacy Law Developments on the Horizon, Jan 2020; European Union, Adequacy decisions.

The original article was published here.