Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) says that DC12, its 14th International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in the Washington, DC, area, is now open for business after completion of the first phase of construction. This initial phase adds 1,500 cabinets and more than 57,800 gross square feet of data center space to the campus. When completed, DC12 will offer capacity for approximately 3,000 cabinets.
The $98.5 million facility offers enterprise and government agency customers access to a mix of global networks, cloud service providers, digital content companies, and social media platforms. The design of DC12, which Equinix predicts will be a LEED Gold Certified building, represents what an Equinix press release described as "the green standard for all future Equinix IBX data center builds." The facility is expected to meet strict water reduction standards and will feature indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) technology that the company expects will dramatically reduce water use.
The campus of which DC12 is a part is a major communications gateway to Europe and the largest internet peering point in North America, Equinix asserts. According to the company's recently published Global Interconnection Index, the Ashburn area represents the largest concentration of private network exchange participants in the U.S. and is becoming a major connection point for most of the world's internet traffic. The Washington, DC, metro area also represents one of the four largest interconnection metros in North America, Equinix says.
"Northern Virginia is the largest data center market in the U.S. and attracts data center tenants from around the world that require interconnection to an extensive ecosystem of cloud and network providers. We believe the region will continue to see rapid growth as data centers race to provide capacity for fast-growing cloud service providers and the digital businesses that seek to connect to these clouds," commented Kelly Morgan, research vice president, services, at 451 Research, via the Equinix press release. "Equinix's Ashburn campus embodies the kind of facility that is able to provide interconnection opportunities to businesses that need to improve their overall performance. The Equinix Washington, DC, data centers are examples of how interconnection is evolving to help companies accelerate their digital transformation."
With such demand for capacity and services in mind, Equinix has purchased four additional parcels of land spanning 34.5 acres for potential future expansion.
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