It’s been quite a year for Equinix, our customers and our partners. No matter where they do business, the companies we work with face similar challenges. They need to optimize costs, increase performance and expand their reach—because this is how they beat the competition and deliver better customer experiences. In my role as Chief Sales Officer at Equinix, I have the privilege to meet with customers around the world to understand their business needs and then explore how they can innovate on our platform. And the same themes come up again and again. The solution? Working with a flexible platform that allows you to connect digital infrastructure in all the right places, with all the right partners, to create all the best possibilities.
We’re in the midst of change across many industries as companies move toward more distributed, interconnected hybrid multicloud architectures. And as a vendor-neutral digital infrastructure company, Equinix has been in a unique position to see the wide-ranging possibilities for our customers to deploy flexible infrastructure solutions to meet their evolving needs.
Much has changed in the last few decades. Data has grown exponentially, and powerful analytics applications like AI have matured. Data is the lifeblood of today’s business, and risks around data security, privacy and increasing regulation mean you must be strategic about where you store and how you move your data. Now more than ever, where you put your data matters. Location impacts cost, performance and your reach. So, it makes sense to work with a company that gives you maximum choice as you design a hybrid infrastructure that puts your data nearer to customers and partners for faster, more secure connectivity.
As we close 2023, and welcome 2024, let’s reflect on the implications of doing business in a rapidly changing world.
Designing infrastructure around points of connection
Most companies prefer to choose a hybrid approach where they combine physical, virtual and cloud-based components to design the infrastructure that’s right for their needs. Data can only move at the speed of light, so where you put your data impacts costs, performance, security and so much more. And that can vary from one sector to another: A global retailer will have different requirements than a national financial institution or a regional construction company. Being at Equinix gives customers a wide range of options to assemble the infrastructure and services that will carry their business forward.
Traditionally, most companies had a hub-and-spoke architectural design. Essential data and applications were located at the company HQ. Data then had to travel long distances to reach business locations, users, and partners, leading to latency, WAN complexity, poor performance and operational risk. Not to mention, the approach tends to come with high costs.
While some companies still operate that way, more and more are moving toward a distributed, interconnected infrastructure as they mature in their digital transformation. Today, you can create core infrastructure hubs closer to where your users and partners are, localizing traffic to optimize your network, simplify your cloud strategy, peer directly with partners and connect to rich vendor ecosystems. In this model, data doesn’t have to travel such great distances, which means lower latency and better user experiences.
As of 2023, 10,000+ customers have taken advantage of the flexibility and choice available on Platform Equinix®. And they’re seeing results from this new approach to digital infrastructure, using our 250 data centers around the world as well as cutting-edge digital services like our virtual networking solution Equinix Fabric®. Let’s look at a few examples and dream about the possibilities as we approach 2024.
Providence expands reach and cuts costs
Providence, a large nonprofit healthcare system in the US, needed to connect its core US network to an India-based innovation hub where it is developing digital services to support its transformation to a Health 2.0 organization. Rather than investing in costly physical infrastructure in India, Providence decided to create a virtual network hub in Singapore using Equinix Network Edge and securely connect its physical and virtual infrastructure, as well as multiple clouds, via Equinix Fabric.
This approach saved Providence 27% over the cost of putting up a physical deployment in India and sped up time to market for its digital apps from 200+ days to just 1 or 2 days. Providence’s innovation center team now has faster access to essential data and can provide timely, effective 24/7 technical support and a more seamless experience for caregivers, partners, and patients. Providence leveraged its digital core in multiple locations to access the rich Equinix ecosystem.
Kansai Airports takes off with cost savings and high-speed connectivity
Kansai Airports in Japan needed a cost-effective private network connection to connect its key operational database with airport networks. Connecting over the internet had resulted in high latency, low reliability, and operational disruptions. Kansai Airports decided to set up a new connection using Equinix IBX® data centers and Equinix Fabric software-defined interconnection.
This solution provided high-speed connectivity with cloud services at more than 50% savings compared to other providers’ solutions, giving Kansai confidence that airport operations wouldn’t be disrupted by poor connectivity. With Platform Equinix, Kansai Airports now has high-speed connection between its data center in Germany and multiple airports in Japan.
Dojo accelerates secure payment processing
The UK payment technology provider Dojo had a growing edge architecture and needed a multicloud infrastructure with fast, secure access to Oracle Cloud, AWS and Google Cloud, as well as hybrid connectivity to an on-premises footprint that includes physical entry points for payment providers. We provided a solution to support Dojo’s multicloud strategy using two UK-based data centers; Equinix Fabric for secure, private interconnection to public clouds via cloud on-ramps; Equinix Network Edge virtual routers and Equinix Internet Access for ISP connectivity. And, with Equinix, Dojo can take advantage of our robust cloud and financial ecosystem closer to the edge. As a result, Dojo is maintaining its competitive advantage by delivering payment services 80% faster than the industry average.
These are just a few stories of how customers are using our global platform to design the interconnected core infrastructure they need to succeed in today’s digital world. At the end of the day, what businesses really care about is optimizing cost, building resiliency, increasing performance, gaining agility, and expanding reach. We have seen it firsthand: These changes improve our customers’ and partners’ confidence that their infrastructure will take them into the next phase of their business.
Our teams have been innovating for 25 years to deliver foundational infrastructure in all the right places, with all the right partners, to help our customers access all the right possibilities. In the coming year, Equinix will continue delivering digital infrastructure everywhere business is done.
See you in 2024!
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