Equinix Launches Cloud Exchange to Unlock Full Potential of Cloud Computing

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, today announced the launch of the Equinix Cloud Exchange, an advanced interconnection solution that enables seamless, on-demand and direct access to multiple clouds and multiple networks across the globe.  By bringing together cloud service providers with cloud consumers and enabling them to establish private, high-performance connections, the Equinix Cloud Exchange gives enterprises direct access to the services they need to build sophisticated hybrid cloud solutions inside Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers.

Until now, companies concerned about relying on the open Internet for mission-critical business did not have a secure, reliable and scalable connectivity solution for a multi-cloud environment.  By eliminating the bottlenecks associated with traditional cloud access across the public Internet, the Equinix Cloud Exchange provides a secure path for businesses to access cloud resources at much higher throughput.  In fact, tests run in the Equinix Solution Validation Center showed increased throughput of 147 percent when connecting directly to the cloud as compared to public Internet connections.

Systems integrators, IT services companies, SaaS and IaaS providers, networks and cloud enablers can all leverage the Equinix Cloud Exchange to rapidly advance their cloud computing agendas, scale their businesses globally and speed their time to market.  At the same time, enterprises can achieve significant benefits by connecting through the Equinix Cloud Exchange, including increasing the privacy, performance and reliability of cloud service connections. 

Businesses can join the Equinix Cloud Exchange in 13 markets globally – Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., New York, Toronto, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris – with expansion planned to a total of 19 markets by the end of 2014.  Today customers can connect to Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute in Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C. and London with planned expansions into 13 additional markets by the end of 2014.

Customers can also access Amazon Web Services via the Equinix Cloud Exchange in Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C. and London. In addition, Equinix is working with other key cloud and network service providers to provide access to their services via the Cloud Exchange.

Next-Generation Interconnection Capabilities Enable High-Performance Multi-Cloud Environment

Representing an industry first, the Equinix Cloud Exchange will combine the automated interconnection of cloud, network and managed service providers with advanced service orchestration, providing enterprises with simple, scalable, direct access to the multiple cloud services they need to build highly flexible hybrid cloud solutions. 

Equinix's Cloud Exchange Portal and APIs simplify the process of managing connections to multiple cloud services.  Businesses can use the Portal and APIs to allocate, monitor and provision virtual circuits in near real-time with the provisioning of those circuits automated end-to-end from the Cloud Exchange to the service provider.  This breakthrough capability provides faster performance, better reliability, increased security, and quicker and easier deployment of cloud applications, bringing significant benefits to the broad community of industry participants looking to realize the benefits of cloud computing.

"As an increasing number of enterprises move to the cloud, they require a new level of interconnectivity to access multiple clouds, across multiple sites, from a broad range of networks," said Tony Bishop, chief strategy officer at The 451 Group.  "With its global datacenter footprint and extensive ecosystem of network and cloud service providers, the Equinix Cloud Exchange addresses many of the most pressing challenges holding corporate users back from relying on the cloud for mission-critical business including latency, security and performance issues."

Interconnection Track Record Positions Equinix to Solve Pressing Cloud Connectivity Challenges

Equinix earned a position as the world's leading data center and interconnection company by enabling the growth of the most influential and highly interconnected business ecosystems in the IT industry.  This 15-year track record has made the company the trusted home to the widest range of networks, cloud providers and prospective cloud services customers in the world.

"Just as it was with the Internet, the key to realizing the business benefits of the cloud is how well connected it is," said Ihab Tarazi, chief technology officer at Equinix.  "But companies are recognizing that the Internet has security and performance limitations, given that it is inherently open and shared publicly.  By utilizing direct access via the Equinix Cloud Exchange, businesses no longer have to compromise on these essential requirements when accessing cloud providers."

Today over 4,500 customers, including 450 cloud service providers and 975 networks, are deployed within Equinix's 100+ global data centers, which are located in close proximity to hundreds of thousands of enterprises.  With the introduction of Cloud Exchange, Equinix is building upon its successful heritage and leveraging the power of interconnection to bring cloud buyers and providers together in new ways to realize the benefits of cloud computing. 

 Additional Resources      

• Equinix Cloud Exchange brings New Level of Interconnection and Potential to the Cloud [blog]
• Equinix to Make Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute Available through Data Centers in 16 Markets Globally [press release]
• Amazon Expands AWS Direct Connect Inside Equinix [press release]

About Equinix Cloud Exchange

The Equinix Cloud Exchange is an advanced interconnection solution that enables seamless, on-demand and direct access to multiple clouds, across multiple networks around the globe.  By combining the automated interconnection of cloud, network and managed service providers with advanced service orchestration for the first time, the Equinix Cloud Exchange provides enterprises with simple, scalable, direct access to the multiple cloud services they need to build highly flexible hybrid cloud solutions.  This removes the security, performance and vendor lock-in concerns holding many organizations back from fully adopting and reaping the benefits of cloud services.  For more information on the Equinix Cloud Exchange, please visit http://www.equinix.com/solutions/by-services/interconnection/exchanges/equinix-cloud-exchange/.

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), connects more than 4,500 companies directly to their customers and partners inside the world's most networked data centers. Today, businesses leverage the Equinix interconnection platform in 32 strategic markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. http://www.equinix.com/.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix's recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Equinix and IBX are registered trademarks of Equinix, Inc.

International Business Exchange is a trademark of Equinix, Inc.

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SOURCE Equinix, Inc.