When I last talked about my hometown of Madrid on this blog, I discussed how it offered ideal conditions for enterprises and service providers to come together and create a robust digital economy. Since then, Madrid has only continued to grow as a digital business hub. That’s why it’s no surprise that the Global Interconnection Index (GXI) report forecasts that interconnection bandwidth in Madrid will grow 56% CAGR by 2024. This makes the city one of the fastest-growing digital hubs in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Equinix has recognized this growth, and has invested heavily to bring digital infrastructure services to Madrid. Today, we’re proud to announce that a key piece of that investment has come to fruition with the launch of MD6, our newest Equinix IBX® data center in Madrid. MD6 is truly unique within the global Equinix IBX data center portfolio because it offers a mix of both hyperscale services and retail colocation space within the same facility.
Why Choose Madrid Data Centers?
Our Madrid data centers are the most connected and carrier-neutral facilities on the Iberian Peninsula. They offer cloud connectivity with a small carbon footprint to more than 45 providers.
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A new era of hyperscale growth begins
The MD6 launch is part of the $3.9 billion hyperscale data center joint venture we announced last year with GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore. This venture will expand our portfolio of Equinix xScale™ hyperscale data centers in new locations throughout the world, giving the world’s largest technology companies access to hyperscale services when and where they need them. When complete, our partnership with GIC will increase the total number of global xScale data centers to 32, representing more than 600 megawatts of total power capacity. MD6 is the seventh xScale facility to open in Europe so far, and the first outside of the core FLAP metros (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris).
By providing greater access between hyperscalers and their enterprise customers, we’re helping meet clear demand for cloud services in Europe. The 2022 Equinix Global Tech Trends Survey (GTTS) found that 64% of EMEA IT leaders said they’d be moving more functions to the cloud within the next year, compared to only 14% moving functions off the cloud. In particular, businesses in EMEA are using hybrid multicloud architectures to maximize flexibility, lower costs and take advantage of unique innovations and best-of-breed services from different cloud providers. In the GTTS, about 70% of EMEA IT leaders said they currently work with two or more cloud service providers.
Outside MD6 IBX data center in Madrid, Spain
Madrid: The digital crossroads of southern Europe
It’s not hard to see why Equinix is so invested in the Madrid market. The city occupies a central position within Spain, which in turn sits in a strategic location at the confluence of Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean. It is both the capital of Spain and one of the most important business centers in southern Europe, playing a leading role in industries such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, logistics, energy and utilities, and financial services.
With the second-highest level of fiber coverage on the continent, Madrid is well connected with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. Thanks to a number of different subsea cable landing sites on the Peninsula, businesses operating in Madrid can also take advantage of low-latency links to Africa, Asia and the Americas. For instance, the EllaLink cable, which provides the first direct, high-capacity connection between Europe and Latin America, lands in Madrid at the Equinix IBX MD2 site. With so many cables linking Madrid to the world, the metro has emerged as a top choice for enterprises looking to do low-latency data aggregation in proximity to cable landing sites.
With our growing footprint in Madrid and our existing IBX data centers in Barcelona, Seville and Lisbon, Equinix has created the largest, most interconnected digital infrastructure platform on the Iberian Peninsula. As such, Platform Equinix® has emerged as the ideal place for Spanish businesses and multinationals alike to deploy their interconnected edge nodes and tap into vibrant digital ecosystems.
Equinix Madrid IBX Data Centers
With upwards of 60 network service providers and 45 cloud and IT service providers already colocated within our Madrid IBX data centers, enterprises won’t have to look far to find the ecosystem partners they need to enable their global digital transformation priorities. They’ll have a variety of options for connecting with those ecosystem partners locally, and be able to connect with hundreds of more partners across the globe using remote software-defined interconnection capabilities from Equinix Fabric™.
In addition, since MD6 offers a mix of retail colocation and hyperscale services in the same facility, both hyperscalers and their enterprise customers will be able to easily deploy in close proximity to one another. This will unlock new collaboration opportunities for both parties. By bringing together ecosystem partners, Equinix is driving digital transformation on the Iberian Peninsula, and cementing Madrid’s status as the digital hub of southern Europe.
MD6 shows our commitment to sustainability in action
At Equinix, we’ve made it a priority to support our customers in their environmental sustainability efforts. It’s what led us to commit to becoming climate-neutral across our global operations by 2030. This makes us the first company in the data center industry to publicly announce such a pledge.
One key aspect of our sustainability strategy is our Data Center of the Future initiative. We’re working to ensure all new Equinix data centers are designed to be both clean and efficient. The launch of MD6 provides a clear example of what that commitment looks like in action. Like all our existing EMEA data centers, MD6 will be powered by 100% renewable energy. It is fuel-agnostic, meaning it can use whatever renewable energy sources are locally available at any given time. In addition to ensuring security of supply, this also cuts down on the environmental and financial costs of transporting fuel over long distances.
We also plan to explore how we can implement a waste heat reuse scheme at the site. As customer equipment emanates heat, that heat can be captured and transferred to the local district heating network. This will provide the local community with a source of low-carbon heat for homes and businesses.
Start your Madrid data center experience today
At Equinix, we strongly believe that interconnected digital infrastructure platforms like the one we’ve built in Madrid are key to helping our enterprise customers meet their digital transformation priorities, within Europe and around the world. We also understand the role that hyperscalers play in helping those enterprises meet their goals, which is why we’re working to grow the xScale data center platform across the globe. With the new MD6 launch, we’re excited to deliver on both of these priorities from within the same facility.
Learn more about how you can deploy modernized digital infrastructure for your regional or global business at our Equinix Madrid IBX data centers.
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