What is data centre interconnection?

Interconnection is the business of connecting tenants, carriers, cloud providers, and networks inside and between data centres. It goes beyond basic connectivity — it creates an ecosystem where proximity to other tenants and networks generates compounding value. Direct cloud on-ramps (private connections to AWS, Azure, Google) reduce latency by 30-60% compared to public internet paths. Interconnection revenue now represents 25-35% of revenue for major colocation operators like Equinix, growing 8-12% annually. The three primary interconnection products are cross-connects (within a facility), metro connects (between facilities in a metro), and fabric services (software-defined virtual connections to hundreds of endpoints).