Equinix, the global interconnection and data centre company, has announced the launch of its newest data centre in Shanghai (SH5) to address the strong demand for premium data centre services in China from global customers looking to expand in the market. The launch further strengthens Equinix’s footprint in Asia-Pacific and demonstrates its long-term commitment to data centre development in China.

Following the US$230.5 million acquisition of Asia Tone in July 2012, Equinix gained a total of six data centres and one disaster recovery centre located across Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, including SH5. The first phase of SH5 will provide 200 cabinet equivalents, expanding to 900 with a gross area of 80,000 sq ft when all three phases of SH5 are completed. With its experience serving multinational customers worldwide, Equinix is uniquely positioned to provide the same high-performance premium colocation services in China that its customers have come to expect.

“Our expansion in China is a strategic move to meet strong demand for premium data centre services from our customers around the globe. China is one of the fastest growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region and a priority market for many multinational companies,” said Alex Tam, managing director, Equinix Greater China. “In addition, the PRC government’s twelfth, five-year plan announced in 2011 encouraged enterprises to adopt new technologies, such as cloud computing technology. This will inevitably result in tremendous demand in the market for data centre services that deliver high-performance and availability. As a leading global data centre service provider, Equinix will continue expanding Platform Equinix to support our customers’ business needs with our global data centre footprint.”