Equinix Partners with Alibaba Cloud to Deliver Greater Cloud Connectivity

Equinix, Inc. today announced a collaboration with Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, to provide enterprises with direct, scalable access to Alibaba Cloud via the Equinix Cloud Exchange in the company’s Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, Sydney, and Washington, D.C., International Business Exchange data centers, with the addition of Frankfurt and London available soon.

The cloud computing market continues to grow rapidly in Asia, and specifically China. According to the U.S. International Trade Administration, the Chinese cloud market is expected to grow at 40% per year through 2020, reaching $20 billion. Access to Alibaba Cloud is critical for multinational customers looking to expand their cloud-based applications into this growing region in a secure and high-performing manner.  By providing multi-national enterprise customers with secure and direct access to Alibaba Cloud, Equinix delivers connectivity to the full suite of Alibaba cloud services to enterprises. Furthermore, Alibaba Cloud Express Connect enables companies to leverage the extensive Alibaba Cloud network in mainland China.

Highlights / Key Facts:

-With the addition of direct access to Alibaba Cloud on Cloud Exchange in these new markets across Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas, Equinix now offers private access to Alibaba Cloud in five markets. The company previously offered access in its Singapore IBX.  Alibaba Cloud is also a colocation customer in Dubai with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (“du”).

– With 179 data centers across 44 markets around the world, Equinix provides cloud service providers such as Alibaba Cloud with a platform to scale their offerings globally to support growing customer demand.  The Equinix Cloud Exchange, which offers direct and private access to multiple cloud service providers, is currently available in 21 markets globally including – Amsterdam, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Osaka, Paris, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.

Commenting on the news, Greg Adgate, vice president of global technology partners and alliances said:

“As one of the world’s leading and fastest growing cloud computing companies, Alibaba Cloud represents a significant partnership for Equinix as we continue to empower businesses around the globe to build secure, private clouds, without compromising network and application performance. We are thrilled to offer direct access in markets across the U.S., Asia and Europe, and look forward to bringing additional markets online in the near future.”