Digitally Mature Businesses in Asia-Pacific Expanding Digital Infrastructure 4x Faster Than Pre-Pandemic Levels

HONG KONG, Oct. 19, 2021 – The latest Global Interconnection Index (GXI Vol. 5), an annual market study published by Equinix, reveals that the pandemic has forced economies into digital overdrive, with digital leaders, businesses who were already implementing a digital-first strategy, moving four times faster than pre-pandemic levels. In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, these businesses have compacted the time to deploy their digital infrastructure to multiple regions, expand to multiple edge locations and integrate multiple clouds—what might have taken two years is now achievable within six months.

This accelerated pace of digital transformation is predicted to continue to fuel the rapid growth in interconnection bandwidth. According to the GXI Vol. 5, overall interconnection bandwidth, the measure of private connectivity for the transfer of data between organizations, is forecast to reach 21,485+ terabits per second (Tbps), or 85 zettabytes, per year by 2024, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44%.  Meanwhile, Cloud & IT and Hyperscale Providers in APAC are expected to see the highest growth rates globally, making up 26% of the regional forecast. This is in line with predictions for APAC, where interconnection bandwidth is expected to grow at a 46% CAGR by 2024, reaching 6,002 Tbps or 28% of global interconnection bandwidth. This growth is aligned with the increasing demand for the digital infrastructure needed to bring more businesses online, facilitate electronic integration with partners and supply chains, and reach more people in distributed hybrid work environments.

Additional Insights From GXI Vol. 5

Global Insights

• Close to 30% of enterprise infrastructure deployed in carrier-neutral facilities has moved to the edge, in proximity to points of data consumption. Service Providers are also expanding at the edge, growing their edge infrastructure 2x faster than their core infrastructure, enabling them to support increasing demand from enterprises.
• Digital leaders are interconnecting with 10 times as many partners, enabling them to ride the wave of digital transformation and enjoy best-of-breed services from a vast pool of Service Providers and partners. This trend has been tracked across 12 industries and three regions, spanning traditional companies, those born in the cloud, Service Providers and even hyperscale providers. 

 APAC Insights

• Among industries, the Financial Services sector is expected to deploy more than 50% of Enterprise interconnection bandwidth, with Manufacturing the second-largest industry in the region. Meanwhile, Service Providers are forecast to consume 65% of APAC interconnection bandwidth (3,819 Tbps), with Network Service Providers alone making up 33% of the regional mix.
• The Banking and Insurance, Public Sector, Industrial Services and Transportation industries are expected to experience the fastest digital infrastructure growth, which is forecast to drive a 50% or more CAGR in interconnection bandwidth from 2020 to 2024. As a result of the pandemic, the Public Sector, and Industrial Services and Transportation industries that were previously lagging in interconnection adoption are now leading in interconnection growth rates.
• Core locations, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo, are forecast to grow interconnection bandwidth to 3,624 Tbps by 2024.
• Edge locations, such as Melbourne, Mumbai, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, etc, are expanding interconnection bandwidth capacity at a 51% CAGR, with several metros approaching the volume and density of core locations.

“While COVID has forced businesses to innovate in many ways, by both expanding existing and introducing new digital services, the infrastructure underpinning these services must keep pace,” said Claire Macland, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Equinix. “As a result, savvy businesses are now moving four times faster than pre-pandemic levels in deploying this necessary digital infrastructure.”

Jeremy Deutsch, President, Equinix Asia-Pacific, added, “The global pandemic has triggered a tectonic shift in demand for digital services and accelerated the need to digitize business models for several years. At Equinix, we have proactively deepened our collaborations with partners by continuously optimizing our offerings and expanding the footprint of Platform Equinix® in Asia-Pacific, to ensure all digital leaders can implement a digital-first strategy.”

• Courtney Munroe, Research Vice President, Worldwide Telecommunications Research, IDC

“Companies that have adopted a comprehensive digital strategy as a core business pillar—connecting with and leveraging digital platforms with partners, ecosystems, and customers, consistently emerge as disruptive market leaders. Adopting digital platforms and services is essential to achieve the level of agility and resiliency that is required to outpace and out-innovate the competition.”

Additional Resources

About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world’s digital infrastructure company^TM, enabling digital leaders to harness a trusted platform to bring together and interconnect the foundational infrastructure that powers their success. Equinix enables today’s businesses to access all the right places, partners and possibilities they need to accelerate advantage. Equinix can scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences, and multiply their value.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements about the speed of digital infrastructure expansion and the growth rate of interconnection bandwidth. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements and the predictions made in the Global Interconnection Index. Factors that might cause such differences include risks described from time to time in Equinix filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see recent Equinix 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.

Media Contact (Asia-Pacific)
Equinix
Annie Ho
+852 2970 7761
annho@ap.equinix.com

Media Contact (Hong Kong)
LEWIS
Miranda Xie
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