Game-Changing Network Edge Solutions Unlock Enterprise Advantages

Tokopedia, Sime Darby, VR Group – what do these companies have in common?

At first glance, absolutely nothing. Tokopedia is a technology company that runs Indonesia’s largest marketplace platform; Sime Darby is a global trading and logistics company; and, VR Group is a Finnish-based travel, logistics and maintenance service company.

Closer scrutiny, however, reveals distinct similarities. All three forward-thinking organizations chose decisively to adopt a digital-first approach to overcome the IT disruptions. They leveraged Equinix Fabric™ and Network Edge to build new agile, flexible, scalable and future-proof digital infrastructure, to futureproof their business. Without the need for manual onsite configuration and additional hardware, they quickly deployed the new interconnection platforms and hybrid multicloud architecture to enable collaboration with customers, partners, service providers and marketplaces across physical and online spaces.

All three companies achieved similar positive outcomes, including enhanced cloud connectivity and application performance; optimized network speed, flexibility, scalability and operational resiliency; and, positive end-user experiences.

From traditional centralized IT to distributed edge computing

Tokopedia, Sime Darby and VR Group are among the growing list of digital leaders across industries that are making a shift away from centralized IT management models, in light of developments such the maturing of digital technologies, like IoT, real-time data analytics, 5G, AI/Machine Learning, in recent years. Today’s business world is increasingly shaped by an exploding number of ‘intelligent’ digital devices that generate massive volumes of vital data and actional insights ‘at the edge’, where end-users are and business activities happen.

Enterprises are recognizing the significant potential of deploying virtualized network functions (VNFs) in a distributed way to manage this burgeoning data and to reduce bandwidth, latency and power issues, typically associated with highly centralized cloud or data center models. The promise of significant competitive advantage, in particular in the face of pressures to stay agile in an increasingly complex marketplace with supply chain challenges and rising costs, is driving this shift transition.

Digital services deliver accelerated ROI

Forrester’s Total Economic Impact (TEI) study, commissioned by Equinix, showed that leveraging digital services and virtual on-demand infrastructure can deliver significant tangible returns on investment (ROI) of more than 140% for a composite organization. The organization was derived from interviewing users with hand-on experience implementing Equinix Fabric™ for software-defined interconnection of physical and virtual deployments, Network Edge for network modernization using virtual devices, and Equinix Metal™ for automated bare metal servers and storage appliances.

The TEI study highlighted significant ROI and benefits for enterprises that have moved IT infrastructure, data and applications from data centres to the cloud, as well as deployed digital supply chains, applications, security, network infrastructure and services using an on-demand model. Benefits include:

• Reduced costs from deploying network services at predictable cost without physical infrastructure. Infrastructure management costs decreased by 60% over three years with the use of Equinix Digital Services, according to the TEI Study.
• Rapid expansion into new markets by leveraging Equinix’s global footprint to build and scale virtual infrastructure to match growth trajectories across different markets.
• Improved performance and sustainability through deploying networks closer to end users to drive AI/analytics for actional insights, whilst effectively reducing latency, bandwidth, power, emissions and overall carbon footprint.
• Multivendor flexibility by offering a wide range of vendor virtual network services with simplified management to ensure enterprises can efficiently select and deploy solutions to meet evolving business needs.
• Accelerated time to market as virtual infrastructure to support business initiatives can be provisioned in minutes instead of months, using automated network configurations.
• Extensive global interconnections to dynamic partner ecosystems, including cloud, network, security and digital supply chain providers.

Fast track to unlocking new business and technical value

Equinix’s extensive experience of working with early adopter digital leaders provides insights into use cases where flexible virtual network functions were deployed on demand, without significant capital expenditures or delays expected with network hardware procurement, to achieve high impact and benefits. Prime examples include:

• Multicloud routing – where a virtual network device is deployed to seamlessly connect to/between hybrid and multicloud cloud providers to achieve optimized application performance. This represents a significant opportunity in Asia-Pacific, where more than 80% of digital leaders work with two or more cloud providers, according to Equinix’s Global Tech Trends Survey 2022.
• Branch to Cloud internetworking and connectivity – where on-demand provisioning and rapid global deployment of virtual SD-WAN gateways support network optimization, for cost and operational efficiencies and ability to leverage technology trends, such Big Data, IoT and Mobility.
• Remote workforce enablement – where the ability to rapidly scale VPN capacity and add network points address the limitations of hardware-centric, hub-and-spoke branch architectures, and support business continuity and global market expansion.
• Provision of enhanced security measures – deploy modular virtual firewall solutions from best-of-breed vendors like Fortinet, Cisco and more in near real-time to reduce network vulnerabilities and protect corporate resources from external attacks via public-facing cloud applications.

Enterprises of all sizes across industries can kickstart their journey to designing a next-generation digital platform for successful digital and business transformation.

Download the Forrester TEI study to discover the economic and competitive advantages of leveraging Equinix Digital Services and Platform Equinix’s thriving global ecosystem. Contact an Equinix specialist to discuss your enterprise requirements.