Data centre operator Equinix has completed phase two of its IBX ME1 data centre in Melbourne.
The US$28 million second phase in Port Melbourne provides an additional 1663 square metres (17,900 square feet) of co-location space and 750 new cabinets.
ME1's total capacity is now approximately 1125 cabinets and 3325 square metres (35,790 square feet) of co-location space.
A key part of the Equinix strategy is to offer rich connectivity, and customers can choose from more than 25 network services providers as well as the Equinix Internet Exchange.
{loadposition stephen08}"The development and expansion of ME1 phase two addresses the growing demand from businesses planning to expand into Melbourne, which is now home to 25% of the Australian business population," said Equinix Australia managing director Jeremy Deutsch.
"Melbourne is a significant site for us, and one of the most requested by our customers. With our twin-metro strategy in Australia, customers can leverage the thriving customer base and the rapidly expanding ecosystems available to them."
Equinix also operates the SY1, SY2 and SY3 data centres in Sydney, with SY4 opening soon.
One ME1 tenant is Yarra City Council, which is using Equinix for cloud connectivity to Azure and Office 365, plus data back-up and disaster recovery. Using Equinix's ME1 facility for colocation services has reduced power costs by about $1775 a month.
The council plans to move all its onsite data to Equinix by 2017.
"We spoke to four different providers and Equinix just felt right immediately. It was a combination of the quality of the data centre, the unmatched interconnection offering, the global scale of Equinix's operations, and the company's roadmap for the future," said Yarra City Council innovation manager Rick Bottiglieri.
"Our vision in the next two years is to move our existing data centre operations into Equinix and pursue our cloud-first innovation strategy. This means our staff and the population of Yarra stand to benefit significantly from improved platforms and services and increased, high-speed connectivity."