REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, today launched significant enhancements to its global Channel Partner Program that build upon 2015 program momentum and provide additional revenue opportunities for its partners. Newly launched training and certification programs will enable partners to develop a stronger joint value proposition with Equinix that will resonate with enterprise customers as they explore an Interconnection Oriented Architecture (IOA™) to transform network efficiency, user experience, and cloud scalability. Equinix's commitment to providing formal training and certification enables channel partners to best prepare their sales and technical staff to offer customers the optimal solutions to meet their evolving cloud needs. Ultimately, this not only increases a partner's overall revenue potential, but also their ability to maintain "trusted advisor" status within the enterprise.  

Two levels of certification for technical professionals ensure Equinix partners are equipped to work with the most complex enterprise IT scenarios. These programs are designed to help partners enable enterprise customers to take advantage of the untapped value in interconnection, including interconnecting people, locations, clouds and data using the Equinix platform.

A global program spanning the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Equinix's Channel Partner Program is designed for managed service providers (MSPs), network service providers (NSPs), system integrators (SIs) and solution providers (SPs) to help design and deploy the right cloud and IT solutions for enterprise customers.

Highlights/Key Milestones

• In 2015, Equinix added more than 350 new partners to its Channel Partner Program, spanning all levels of partnership, from agents, master agents, resellers and lead referral partners. Notable partners that have joined the global program since its launch include Avant, Dimension Data, Hanu, KBQuest and VMtech, among others. Equinix allows program members to both resell and refer Equinix services, helping enterprise customers obtain the comprehensive cloud services and expertise needed directly from the channel community. Equinix is also actively recruiting government-focused partners as it continues to expand its reach into federal IT.
• Equinix's strategic partnerships with leading cloud service providers, including AWS, Cisco, Google Cloud Platform, IBM SoftLayer, Microsoft Azure, NetApp, and Oracle, enable the Equinix partner community to leverage the power of the cloud to support enterprises' mission critical applications. Partners can leverage the program's global footprint, high performance connectivity options and global supply-chain ecosystems, delivering solutions that precisely meet their performance, reliability and cost requirements.
• Equinix's product innovations complement the Channel Partner program, and offer a seamless means for partners to add next-generation cloud interconnection solutions to their existing product offerings. For example, Equinix's Cloud Exchange™ provides MSP and NSP end-customers a dedicated, private connection to multiple leading cloud platforms and applications. Equinix also offers direct connection to government clouds such as Azure Government via ExpressRoute and AWS GovCloud.
• Interested channel partners can learn more about Equinix's view on issues shaping enterprise IT during this week's Channel Partners Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, taking place March 16-18. Equinix vice president of ecosystem development, Jim Poole, will be participating in two panel discussions – one on the current state of the colocation market and another on IoT applications that the channel can sell now. Additionally, Equinix channel partner program manager, Julie Linos, will participate in "What's Next in Cloud," a panel discussion that looks at what the future holds for this maturing market--and how channel partners can capitalize. For more information, please visit the Channel Partners Conference website.

Quotes

• Christopher Rajiah, vice president worldwide channel sales and alliances, Equinix: "The strong growth we've seen since the launch of the Equinix channel program is a testament to the clear value partners are experiencing. As a result of our new training and certification programs, partners are able to increase their ability to build a profitable, recurring revenue stream as well as create new offerings for enterprises to re-architect their IT to interconnect people, clouds and data. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners to ensure their enterprise customers are able to take maximum advantage of hybrid- and multi-cloud strategies."
• Dave Sasson, chief strategy officer, Hanu:
  "Equinix continues to deliver value in their world class channel program. Hanu has partnered with Equinix to provide differentiated hybrid cloud solutions that leverage private connectivity via Equinix Cloud Exchange and Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute. The result is a comprehensive offer that assists clients throughout their IT transformation journey, taking them from assessing workloads through fully managed hybrid IT services offerings. The latest enhancements to the Equinix channel program position Hanu to deliver customized solutions and increased value to our clients."
• Drew Lydecker, president, Avant Communications, Inc.:
  "AVANT is excited about Equinix's new training and certification program for partners. AVANT, a leader in cloud channel sales enablement, plans to extensively leverage these new offers with thousands of AVANT's sellers as part of our INTELLIGENT DISTRIBUTION™ methodology. These new certifications from Equinix are exactly what is needed by the industry for more consultative selling."
• Eric Moy, CEO, KBQuest:
  "The KBQuest Cloud Accelerator and Equinix platform connects our customers to the Microsoft cloud via a private high-performance, secure and affordable connection. Now our growing enterprise customer base can extend their reach and benefit from access to a worldwide network spread across 21 countries. We find great value in being part of Equinix's growing channel program and welcome these new enhancements, that we are confident will continue to enable us to be trusted advisors to the enterprise."
• Richard Clark, CTO, VMtech:
  "Our partnership with Equinix has allowed us to expand the range of services we provide to our growing customer base. Some of these services now include: Backup as a Service, Disaster Recovery as a Service and managed cloud connectivity via the Equinix Cloud Exchange. We have great confidence in Equinix and the value our customers receive from Equinix's enterprise grade facilities, network capabilities, and global data center footprint. Under the Equinix channel program, our relationship is going from strength- to- strength."

Additional Resources

• More about Equinix Channel Partner Program [website]
• The Equinix Partner Program: A Three-Way Street to Growth [blog post]

About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects the world's leading businesses to their customers, employees and partners inside the most interconnected data centers. In 40 markets across five continents, Equinix is where companies come together to realize new opportunities and accelerate their business, IT and cloud strategies. www.equinix.com.

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 centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; 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; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix's recent 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.