Global interconnection and data centre company Equinix has done a deal with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba to provide enterprises with direct, scalable access to Alibaba Cloud.
Under the deal, Equinix will provide access via the Equinix Cloud Exchange in the company’s Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, Sydney, and Washington, D.C., International Business Exchange (IBX) data centres. Frankfurt and London will be available soon.
Greg Adgate, vice-president of global technology partners and alliances, Equinix, says the cloud computing market continues to grow rapidly in Asia, and specifically China.
He cites US International Trade Administration reports that the Chinese cloud market is expected to grow at 40% per year through 2020, reaching $20 billion.
{loadposition peter}Adgate says 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”.
According to Adgate, by providing multinational enterprise customers with secure and direct access to Alibaba Cloud, Equinix delivers connectivity to the full suite of Alibaba cloud services to enterprises, and Alibaba Cloud Express Connect enables companies to leverage the extensive Alibaba Cloud network in mainland China.
“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,” Adgate says.
“We are thrilled to offer direct access in markets across the US, Asia and Europe, and look forward to bringing additional markets online in the near future.”
Adgate says with the addition of direct access to Alibaba Cloud on Cloud Exchange in new markets across Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas, Equinix now offers private access to Alibaba Cloud in five markets.
Yeming Wang, deputy general manager of Alibaba Cloud Global, says the global reach of Equinix Cloud Exchange makes it simple for Alibaba Cloud to access new markets.
“We are pleased to provide greater value and bring our services closer to enterprises by leveraging Equinix’s powerful, on-demand cloud connectivity, and in particular to provide greater connectivity to the Chinese market.”