The world is becoming increasingly digital every day and so are the expectations and demands of the people who live in it. We’re transitioning towards a digital world where Everything-as-a-Service is coming into play. The click of a button or a tap on the screen can facilitate the delivery of food, streamline access to financial services and virtualize medical care. Users can shorten their time to value simply by consuming services digitally – anytime, anywhere. Digital-savvy populations are increasingly reliant on digital platforms and the ecosystems within them to go about their daily lives. But how do these platforms and services interconnect to deliver the data and information that users need and want? How can enterprises ensure seamless and satisfying user experience across different devices, locations and networks?
The answer lies in the concept of a robust digital ecosystem, where a rich network of interconnected digital entities can exchange value and information through digital channels. A digital ecosystem can include various types of digital partners, such as cloud and network providers, digital services, device manufacturers and end users. By interconnecting in a digital ecosystem like Platform Equinix®, enterprises and partners can seamlessly access and exchange data and resources more efficiently and effectively, creating new value propositions to enhance customer satisfaction. Digital infrastructure will be the key for organizations to unlock their potential with new innovations and technology that are redefining the way business value is generated.
Reason #1: Emerging technological applications thrive in digital ecosystems
A digital ecosystem is not only essential for delivering existing digital services, it also enables emerging technological applications that require high performance, low-latency and secure data exchange. For example, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Web3, and other innovative technologies are transforming every industry and sector. These new digital tools rely heavily on massive amounts of data, computation power and digital interconnection platforms to deliver intelligent insights and solutions that can improve productivity and customer experiences. On-demand interconnection service models allow enterprises to lower the costs of leveraging these new innovations such as instant AI infrastructure, used by organizations to test their own AI models. Through the software-defined interconnection of Equinix Fabric®, enterprises can tap into NVIDIA LaunchPad to extend their AI capabilities without incurring significant upfront IT costs and expertise to set up their own systems in-house.
However, these technologies also pose significant challenges to traditional IT infrastructure and network architectures, which are often centralized, siloed and vulnerable to congestion and cyberattacks. To overcome these challenges, enterprises need to adopt a hybrid infrastructure approach that combines the flexibility and scalability of the cloud with the security and reliability of physical digital infrastructure like Equinix Metal®. By interconnecting their private IT infrastructure with multiple cloud service providers (CSPs), network service providers (NSPs), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers and other partners in a digital ecosystem, enterprises can optimize their data flow and processing across different platforms and locations, while maintaining control and visibility over their data.
Reason #2: Interconnection platforms lower cybersecurity risks
The rise of new technologies has inevitably resulted in cybersecurity concerns that are increasingly complex and damaging for enterprise security and privacy. According to Equinix’s 2023 Global Tech Trends Survey, the majority (80%) of IT decision-makers in the Asia-Pacific region see improving cybersecurity and cutting costs as the top priorities for their organization’s technology strategy. Cyberattacks (75%), security breaches and data leaks (74%) and a shortage of IT talent (73%) are among the top threats to business and IT decision-makers in the Asia-Pacific region. There are three major cybersecurity trends according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook of 2023 that will have an impact on digital economies and societies in the coming years.[1]
- The transition towards hybrid and remote work has necessitated the need for high-speed, on-demand access to information and data.
- Cybercriminals utilize AI and other technologies to stage increasingly sophisticated attacks through automation, impersonation of users and data manipulation to disrupt critical operations.
- Gaps in cybersecurity knowledge and talent will continue to outpace cybersecurity regulations as data privacy becomes more stringent and diverse across different regions.
These looming threats have prompted the need for enterprises to implement a new set of measures that can safeguard the global integrity of their data from unauthorized access and data breaches. Equinix’s world-class federated API framework can provide organizations with real-time insight regarding the security controls protecting customers and their digital ecosystems. Robust digital infrastructure extends threat intelligence capabilities that can help enterprises identify and respond to threats in a timely manner.
Reason #3: Digital infrastructure facilitates data sovereignty and low-latency exchange
Despite the growing risks of data security, more than a third of companies haven’t instituted risk management efforts and only a quarter have made cyber-resilience improvements.[2] A significant spread of digital leaders (40%) also claim that they do not understand the data risks posed by emerging technologies like virtual environment tools, generative AI, enterprise blockchain and quantum computing.[3] Organizations operating on the public internet also increase the vulnerability of organizations to cyberattacks and prevent them from conducting low-latency data exchange.
Interconnecting within a neutral digital ecosystem in a private environment can help organizations reclaim their data sovereignty and maintain a higher level of security and compliance standards through a single connection point. Enterprises gain the flexibility to access a rich ecosystem of digital services without relying on a single provider, increasing their resilience against single points of failure while optimizing their costs and performance. Interconnection ecosystems like Platform Equinix eliminate the need for organizations to move their data across different platforms, allowing them to retain control over their data.
Securing your digital ecosystems for future-proofed digital transformation
Digital ecosystems are essential for digital transformation and serve as an enabler for emerging technology applications that require low-latency and secure data exchange. However, without the proper digital infrastructure and interconnection pathways, digital ecosystems pose significant cybersecurity and regulatory risks for enterprises. On-demand hybrid infrastructure allows organizations to circumnavigate these challenges, combining the flexibility and scalability of the cloud with the security and reliability of physical data infrastructure. Equinix will continue to support enterprises in optimizing their data flow across different platforms and locations while maintaining control and sovereignty over their data.
[1] https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-cybersecurity-outlook-2023
[2] https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2023/digital-trust-insights.html
[3] https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2023/digital-trust-insights.html
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