On Tuesday, global digital infrastructure landlord Equinix announced plans to expand its presence in Singapore with a fifth so-called IBX (International Business Exchange) data center.
The nine-story purpose-built facility, to be named SG5, will launch with an initial investment of $144 million, and is scheduled to open in the first half of 2021 with an initial capacity of 1,300 cabinets. At full capacity, SG5 will provide approximately 129,000 square feet of colocation space and 5,000 cabinets.
Equinix’s SG5 announcement follows last week’s news that the company plans to open a third IBX center in Osaka, Japan.
Singapore is a strategic location for many multinational corporations in the region. Equinix has significantly invested in the buildout of Singapore’s digital infrastructureto meet the needs of this key client base, including $85.3 million to open its fourth IBX data center in Singapore, SG4 IBX, which opened earlier this year on the eastern portion of the island. Equinix currently offers more than 468,000 square feet of colocation space, plus software-defined interconnection to cloud service providers (CSPs) in Singapore.
SG5 will be located at the Tanjong Kling data center park, diversifying Equinix’s location presence across the island, and will be directly connected to the company’s four other IBX data centers through low-latency dark fiber links.
Smart Nation
Equinix stated in a company release that the latest IBX data center opening is aligned with Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative, which is driving businesses in the country to rapidly undertake digital transformation to build resiliency and stay competitive in the digital economy. Singapore’s advancement toward these goals is positioning the island city-state as a digital hub and gateway for the Asia-Pacific region.
“As the global economy and the Asia-Pacific region continue to grow, we see a strong demand for digital infrastructure to support business growth,” Equinix Asia-Pacific president Jeremy Deutsch said in a statement. “This is especially evident in Singapore, which is proving to be a key hub for digital business in the region. Traditional infrastructure is struggling to keep up with this digital demand, leading enterprises to explore hybrid and multicloud options to further their transformation. The SG5 IBX data center aims to create more opportunities for enterprises in the region to build a strong digital foundation, enabling them to develop into the digital leaders of tomorrow.”
Sandra Ng, Group VP at digital market intelligence consultancy IDC Asia Pacific remarked on the strategic importance of Equinix’s infrastructure in Singapore.
“Digital infrastructure is key to success and competitive advantage for enterprises in the next normal,” Ng said. “IDC’s CEO research in early 2020 showed that the leading priority among CEOs in Asia-Pacific is building a digital IT infrastructure that supports resilient operations and pervasive experiences. Equinix’s investment in Singapore will further strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure to support its Smart Nation journey as well as enterprise digitalization and resiliency.”
Renewable energy
Additionally, Equinix has a long-term goal of using 100 percent clean and renewable energy and reducing its global carbon footprint. In the third quarter of this year, Equinix achieved a 75 percent renewable energy target, and operational plans for SG5 will continue in this direction with a number of energy efficiency features. SG5 will be equipped with motion-activated LED lights, automated control and motor regulation. SG5 will be temperature-controlled using hot aisle containment (i.e., separating hot exhaust air inside the data center to prevent mixing with cold air, thus lowering overall facility temperatures), and cooled with Recycled NEWater, or used water that is cleaned and treated in order to become high-grade “reclaimed” water (NEWater adoption has been a Singapore government priority, and the country currently has five NEWater plants supplying up to 40 percent of Singapore’s current water needs).
Equinix currently operates more than 220 IBX data centers in 63 metropolitan areas worldwide, supplying more than 9,500 leading companies with digital infrastructure. In Asia-Pacific alone, Equinix operates 46 IBX data centers across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Singapore.
