Equinix builds fourth data center in Tokyo for $43M
Equinix has unveiled its fourth data center in Tokyo, a US$43 million investment to meet demand for the company's data center services in the country.
According to a statement by the company on Wednesday, the new data center will be launched in two phases, and provide a total capacity of 750 cabinet equivalents. The first phase, scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2013, will offer an initial capacity of 450 cabinet equivalents.
The company's fourth data center in the city will be located in Tokyo's business district, the Otemachi area. According to Equinix, 90 percent of Internet traffic is being exchanged in this area.
This will enable financial companies to have close proximity with major financial exchanges in the Japanese capital, enable Internet serivce providers (ISPs) and content providers to reduce IP transit costs and improve end users experience for their customers through Equinix's Internet Exchange, the company said.
Tokyo is a strategic market for the company, because it is one of the largest data center markets worldwide and a gateway for traffic from the U.S. to Asia, Kei Furata, managing director of Equinix Japan, noted in a statement.
"Our expanded presence in Japan will give our customers greater access to global network connectivity and capitalize on the opportunities presented by the Japanese market," he said.
According to IDC, the data center outsourcing market in Japan will reach a size of 1.4 trillion yen (US$20 billion) in 2015. The market will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6 percent between 2010 to 2015.
Equinix had commenced its US$28.5 million datacenter expansion to meet Asia's growing cloud appetite in June last year. The millions spent will bring the facility to 3,256 cabinets, improve latency, and play into a larger company strategy that has led to new data centers in Hong Kong, Sydney and Tokyo.
Elsewhere in the world, Equinix had launched phase two of its Sydney 3 International Business Exchange datacenter facility (SY-II) in Alexandria in November, setting the company back US$39.4 million. However, the company announced in September it will sell 16 U.S. data center facilities to investment group 365-main to focus on its most profitable global markets.