Equinix completes $28m Melbourne IBX expansion
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Equinix completes $28m Melbourne IBX expansion

Equinix has completed the second phase expansion of its ME1 international business exchange (IBX) in Melbourne, Australia.

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The global interconnection and data centre firm launched the facility, its first in Melbourne, back in March 2015. Phase two of ME1, located in Port Melbourne, has cost $28 million and sees 750 new cabinets and 17,900 square feet of colocation space added to the facility. The expansion brings the total operational capacity of ME1 to approximately 1,125 cabinets and a total colocation area of 35,790 square feet.

The company says it is “an indicator of Equinix's continued commitment to customers, prospects and partners in the region”. Equinix has 28 IBX data centres in APAC, in five countries and eight metros, including SY1, SY2 and SY3 in Sydney, ME1 in Melbourne, and its new SY4 facility, opening soon in Sydney.

"The development and expansion of ME1 phase two addresses the growing demand from businesses planning to expand into Melbourne, which is now home to 25% of the Australian business population,” said Jeremy Deutsch, managing director of Equinix Australia.

There are over 25 network service providers (NSPs) available in Equinix's Melbourne data centre from a diverse ecosystem of more than 100 customers.

Due to the changing expectations of the community and new operational demands, local councils like Yarra City, are increasingly turning to hybrid cloud technology as an alternative to deliver services and is using Equinix for cloud connectivity via Equinix Cloud Exchange, specifically Microsoft Azure and Office 365, as well as for data backup and disaster recovery. 

Deutsch added: “Melbourne is a significant site for us, and one of the most requested by our customers. With our twin-metro strategy in Australia, customers can leverage the thriving customer base and the rapidly expanding ecosystems available to them. We're looking forward to seeing Yarra City Council grow and scale as they embrace interconnection."

By 2017, Yarra City Council plans to move all onsite data to Equinix. This will provide enhanced interconnectivity options and a solid foundation on which to evolve its future IT operations.

Rick Bottiglieri, innovation manager at Yarra City Council, said: “We spoke to four different providers and Equinix just felt right immediately. It was a combination of the quality of the data centre, the unmatched interconnection offering, the global scale of Equinix's operations, and the company's roadmap for the future. Our vision in the next two years is to move our existing data centre operations into Equinix and pursue our cloud-first innovation strategy. This means our staff and the population of Yarra stand to benefit significantly from improved platforms and services and increased, high-speed connectivity."

The news comes after Equinix acquired Digital Realty's operating business in St. Denis, Paris, for $211 million earlier this month.





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