REDWOOD CITY, Calif. and
MUSCAT, Oman, Oct. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix,
Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world's digital infrastructure
company, and global communications provider Oman
Telecommunications Company (Omantel, an MSM-listed company: OTEL),
today announced the opening of their new International Business
Exchange™ (IBX®) data center in Barka, near Muscat—the
capital of Oman. Known as MC1, the
facility is the first world-class, carrier-neutral hub in
Oman where carriers, content
providers and cloud providers can colocate critical IT
infrastructure.
Strategically located between Asia, Africa
and Europe, the new Equinix IBX in
Oman will serve as a regional
interconnection hub providing ultra-low latency connection points
between key global business markets. The new IBX benefits from
direct connectivity to strategic cable landing stations (CLS) and
subsea cable systems that terminate directly inside the facility,
and is expected to provide customers with increased performance and
security, along with significant cost savings.
Highlights/Key Facts
- Equinix and Omantel announced in July
2018 that the companies had entered into a joint venture to
deliver data center and interconnection services to customers in
the Middle East through the
development of the new network-dense data center. The resulting
site, MC1, is operated by Equinix and includes 23,600+ square feet
of colocation space and 725 cabinets. The site has capacity to grow
to 2,150+ cabinets with future IBX builds.
- MC1 is Equinix's first data center in Oman and its fourth in the MENA region.
- MC1 provides customers with direct access to the Equinix
Internet Exchange™, creating a regional peering hub for networks,
content providers and large enterprises to exchange internet
traffic over the world's largest peering solution.
- Equinix's 2019-20 Global Tech Trends Survey found over 40% of
IT decision-makers in EMEA are prioritizing connecting with new
digital ecosystems as part of their organization's overarching
technology strategy.
- With subsea cable systems terminating directly in MC1, the site
benefits from continued investments by Omantel in multiple
strategic subsea cable systems throughout the world, reaching over
50 countries globally. Omantel currently has investments in more
than 20 subsea cable systems and leverages six diverse landing
stations in Oman and one in
Marseille, France.
- Based on demand and requirements, customers across the Gulf
States and wider MENA region can also leverage other Equinix data
centers in the region for dual access to content providers,
allowing carriers, content providers and cloud providers to
leverage interconnection and further build resilience into their IT
and network infrastructures.
- According to the latest edition of the Global Interconnection
Index (GXI), enterprise consumption of interconnection bandwidth is
expected to grow at a 67% CAGR in EMEA by 2022, outpacing other
forms of business data exchange, as businesses respond to rapidly
growing volumes of data.
Quotes
- Talal Al Mamari, CEO,
Omantel
"Today, data center infrastructure sits at the
heart of global ICT and enables all of us to enjoy the cloud-based
apps and services we use every day. The new IBX in Oman represents a significant step forward for
Oman and the Middle Eastern ICT
markets. We are delighted that the facility is now open and,
together with Equinix, we hope to enable a new era of
telecommunications both regionally and globally.
Coupled with the majority of the GCC's international
submarine cables landing in Oman, all accessible from the Equinix
data center, we believe this partnership will further
enhance Oman's competitiveness in
the global digital economy."
- Sohail Qadir, Vice President,
Omantel Wholesale Unit
"Omantel provides cable
landings and connectivity to more than 120 cities across the world.
We also have investments in 20 subsea cable systems, and leverage
six diverse landing stations in Oman and another in France. Additionally, Omantel is an investor
in AAE-1 consortium—one of the largest and newest
high-capacity connections between Asia, Africa
and Europe. And through this
partnership with Equinix, we believe we are well-positioned now to
provide the current and future needs of carriers, content
providers, and cloud providers".
- Eugene Bergen Henegouwen, President, EMEA,
Equini
"We are seeing an accelerated demand for digital
transformation in MENA. Across different sectors, organizations are
re-assessing their cloud adoption strategies and cloud readiness.
In the digital age, companies need to reach all the right places
and partners to seize opportunity, and they need to do it out at
the edge. Our partnership with Omantel greatly supports our ability
to meet this need, particularly as our customers can now leverage
Omantel's significant subsea cable infrastructure. This type of
colocation and interconnection services platform creates a
magnetic effect that draws in more users that can leverage a global
subsea cable fabric connecting cities, countries and continents
together. Along with this, our investment in the Middle East market—including the new
data center in Oman—reflects our commitment to our
customers as they continue their digital transformation
journeys."
- Judith Gardiner, Vice
President, Growth and Emerging Markets, Equini
"We know
from our latest tech trends survey that over 40% of IT
decision-makers in the region are utilizing interconnection to
increase the flexibility of connectivity, and that's certainly
something we will offer at MC1. We're giving our customers direct
access to the best markets via the best routes, all over the world,
and the Equinix Internet Exchange link allows network operators,
content providers and enterprises across industries, to easily and
efficiently exchange internet traffic—crucial for those
wishing to compete in today's global digital economy."
- Kamel Al-Tawil, Managing
Director for Middle East and
North Africa,
Equinix
"As IP traffic growth continues to accelerate, it
is more important than ever that the IP peering community has a
scalable, reliable and globally consistent Internet Exchange
solution in all markets where they want to peer traffic.
Oman is strategically positioned
between Asia, Africa and Europe, and with our partnership with
Omantel, we intend to create a hub that will allow drivers of
internet traffic to efficiently peer, and expand operations across
the world".
Additional Resources
- Equinix 2019-20 Global Tech Trends Survey [report]
- Global Interconnection Index Volume 3 [report]
- IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Colocation & Interconnection
Services Report [report]
- Learn more about Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric® [website]
- Learn more about Equinix Internet Exchange™ [website]
- Equinix and Omantel Enter Agreement to Build New Equinix Data
Center in Oman [press
release]
About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the
world's digital infrastructure company, enabling digital leaders to
harness a trusted platform to bring together and interconnect the
foundational infrastructure that powers their success. Equinix
enables today's businesses to access all the right places, partners
and possibilities they need to accelerate advantage. With Equinix,
they can scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services,
deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value.
About Omantel
Omantel Wholesale is the international
and domestic wholesale arm of Oman Telecommunications Company
S.A.O.G. (Omantel), the first and leading integrated
telecommunications service provider in Oman.
Founded in 1970, Omantel is a joint-stock company listed in
Muscat Securities Market and is 51% owned by Oman Investment Fund
(OIF), a wholly owned investment arm of the Omani government.
The company has laid the groundwork for telecommunications and
technological advancement in the country and it continues to invest
heavily within its own borders and abroad. As a result, Omantel has
acquired a controlling stake in Kuwaiti Mobile Telecommunications
Company (Zain Group) last year, making it the second-largest
shareholder in the company.
Omantel Wholesale capitalizes on ultra-low latency networks to
enable innovation and digital transformation globally, utilizing
Oman's geographic advantage at the
absolute nexus of the east, west, north and south to enable its
customers and partners to deliver their services with the best
possible end-user experience.
For more information, please visit www.omantel.om/Wholesale
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in
such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such
differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of
acquiring, operating and constructing IBX® data centers
and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix products and
solutions; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the
integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into
Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenues from customers
in recently built out or acquired data centers; a failure to
complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time;
competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to
generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay
new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business
from our key customers; risks related to our taxation as a REIT;
and other risks described from time to time in Equinix filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see recent
Equinix quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request
from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the
forward-looking information contained in this press release.
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SOURCE Equinix, Inc.