REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world's digital infrastructure company™, today announced it intends to open its first data center in Bordeaux, France, in Q3 2021. With direct fiber links to Equinix's International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) sites in Paris, this new facility—named BX1—will provide global businesses and local authorities located in New Aquitaine with the ability to connect directly and securely to the world's digital economy, via comprehensive digital ecosystems.

Increasing connectivity opportunities further, BX1 will provide a landing hub for the new submarine cable, AMITIE, due to link France to the United States and Great Britain, creating a new European gateway for data traffic between the United States and Europe.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the true importance of digital technology. From telecommuting, to increased automation and collaboration, technological innovation has made it possible to comply with restrictions, but also to capture new opportunities.

Indeed, digital transformation is reshaping industries worldwide. According to the World Economic Forum, digital will account for 60% of global GDP by 2022, and it is estimated that 70% of the new value created over the next decade will be based on digital platforms. However, this development is dependent on the ability to process data and create synergies between companies within physical infrastructures, located as close as possible to users.

Strategically located in the southwest of France, near the Atlantic coast, Bordeaux is establishing itself as a new hub on the map of global connectivity. A pioneer of the smart city concept, Bordeaux has attracted a high concentration of start-ups and is home to cutting-edge industries such as aerospace and optics photonics. The city is also home to a growing business community of global and local companies that require low latency, increased bandwidth and strong connectivity to major network, content and cloud services providers, to establish and grow their businesses.

BX1 further supports this growing digital hub. And by providing access to Platform Equinix®, the development will offer a highly connected footprint of capabilities and services, enabling businesses to connect their core digital infrastructure around the world.

Highlights/Key Facts

• BX1 will be the first carrier-neutral data center in Bordeaux. As a true connectivity hub, BX1 will offer customers secure and resilient colocation and interconnection services, as well as the opportunity to benefit from the comprehensive digital ecosystems housed in Equinix's Paris sites, via Equinix Fabric™.
• With more than 220 facilities across five continents, Platform Equinix enables companies in France to quickly and easily connect to the world's most important business markets, including financial centers and gateways to emerging economies. BX1 further demonstrates Equinix's commitment to helping companies compete more effectively in France and internationally, thus strengthening France's position in the global digital economy.
• BX1 features a modular design—flexible, efficient and quickly adjustable. This allows for multiple configurations and scaling of a common model across different footprints. The site is due to provide colocation space of approximately 32,000 square feet (3,000 square meters).
• BX1 is being built in line with global environmental standards and will contribute to a portfolio of some of the most energy-efficient data centers in the world. Indeed, BX1 is due to utilize 100% renewable energy, with the decoupled energy platform supporting multiple power sources while providing greener energy storage and greater resilience. Equinix is dedicated to providing sustainable infrastructure, and has been awarded the EcoVadis Silver medal since 2017, recently scored the highest rating on its first response to the DPP's Committed to Sustainability survey, and received an A- ranking from CDP. The company has also joined European cloud infrastructure and data center providers and European trade associations to form the Climate Neutral Data Centre Operator Pact and Self-Regulatory Initiative.

Quotes

• Régis Castagné, Managing Director, France, Equinix:
  "The development of BX1 is part of our ongoing commitment to the French market, further supporting the growth of the local digital economy and digital transformation strategies. It is an exciting project, bringing the first edge computing-led data center to the area, and also providing a connectivity hub for the AMITIE cable. By locating in Bordeaux, we are hoping to make the New Aquitaine region a model for innovation, addressing technological issues and capturing the opportunities of digital business. With fiber links to our sites in Paris, companies deploying in BX1 will have direct and secure connections to a comprehensive digital ecosystem."
• Eugene Bergen Henegouwen, President, EMEA, Equinix:
  "The addition of the new Bordeaux metro is another strategic expansion of Platform Equinix, further supporting our more than 10,000 customers worldwide. The Bordeaux hub will serve as one of the key connectivity points to Paris with its rich wide-ranging digital ecosystems. BX1 aims to greatly increase international expansion opportunities for French companies, whilst providing a major connectivity hub from and to the French and global digital economy."
• Jean-Luc Vuillemin, Executive Vice President Network Infrastructures and International Services, Orange:
  "It is hoped the landing of the new transatlantic mega cable near Bordeaux will ultimately enable the New Aquitaine region to become a global data exchange center, building a strong and innovative digital ecosystem to support its economic development. This is the first time in several decades that a new submarine cable connectivity point has been created in France. This will contribute, on the one hand, to offering greater resilience in data transmissions between Europe and the United States, but also, as we did a few years ago in Marseilles, to maximize the economic benefits that can be brought by submarine cables, by irrigating new areas with high development potential. We worked together to achieve this, and are particularly pleased with the result."
• Mr. Jean-François Pierron, Elected Member of the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry:
  "Equinix's presence in Bordeaux will give companies access to industry-leading digital services as well as the opportunities afforded to companies located in Paris. BX1 will strengthen our digital ecosystem and the attractiveness of our region in promoting the development of companies here."

Additional Resources

• Accelerating Digital Transformation Trends in France [blog]
• Global Interconnection Index Volume 4 [report]
• Learn more about Equinix Fabric™ [website]
• Learn more about our data centers in France [website]
• Learn more about Platform Equinix® [website]
• Sustainability at Equinix [website]
• The Data Center of the Future Begins in France [blog]

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.

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.