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 Hong Kong and the broader 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%.

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. Particularly, Hong Kong is expected to see interconnection bandwidth grow at a 45% CAGR, the highest among core metros in APAC. 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.
• 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 in APAC, including Hong Kong, are forecast to grow its vertical mix to 3,624 Tbps in 2024, as an increasing number of enterprises scale up their connectivity requirements to cloud and network providers.
• Specifically, Hong Kong’s geographical proximity to mainland China and the booming finance market make it a prime location for financial services and home to many financial institutions, continuing to drive interconnection bandwidth growth. Based on global deployment data analyzing more than 500 organizations that deployed 5,000 or more implementations worldwide between Q1 2016 and Q1 2021, digital leaders from Business & Professional Services have chosen Hong Kong as their top metro in Asia- Pacific to deploy their infrastructures and support business growth. Financial services and Network are expected to become Hong Kong’s largest vertical mix in 2024.

“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.”

Larry Tam, Managing Director, Equinix Hong Kong, added, “To navigate today’s ever-changing business environment, digital leaders in Hong Kong need to undertake prudent evaluations and make smart investments when it comes to digital infrastructure if they are to keep pace with modern business requirements and rapid digital transformation. With 5G and Smart City initiatives continuing to drive digital transformation in Hong Kong, the city is gearing up to become an international IT hub and further strengthen its status as a global financial center. To support this, we are committed to interconnecting the infrastructure that enterprises need to fast-track digital advantage and power the city’s digital economy.”

Industry Perspective on the Global Interconnection Index

• 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
+852 3002 3761
equinixHK@teamlewis.com