Equinix expands partnership with IBM Cloud
The collaboration aims to bring private and scalable connectivity to global enterprises at the digital edge via ECX Fabric.
Global interconnection and data center company Equinix Inc (NASDAQ:EQIX) today announces an expanded partnership with IBM Cloud which aims to bring private and scalable connectivity to global enterprises at the digital edge via Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric (ECX Fabric). This expansion builds upon the long-standing Equinix and IBM relationship where IBM Cloud Direct Link Exchange is deployed in more Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers worldwide.
Equinix explains that many companies are using a hybrid cloud strategy with a combination of public, private and on-premises capabilities. A hybrid cloud strategy addresses major enterprise concerns as they move more of their applications to the cloud, including security concerns, data protection and protocols, availability, and cloud management. To enable hybrid cloud deployments for enterprises, Equinix and IBM are leveraging the global ECX Fabric to provide private connectivity to IBM Cloud, including Direct Link Exchange, Direct Link Dedicated and Direct Link Dedicated Hosting.
ECX Fabric is an on-demand, SDN-enabled interconnection service that allows any business to connect between its own distributed infrastructure and any other company’s distributed infrastructure, including the world’s largest network service and cloud providers, on Platform Equinix.
Direct Link, IBM Cloud’s private interconnection service, provides customers with a connection to their enterprises’ on-premises network or private data center to the IBM Cloud platform. By utilizing ECX Fabric, IBM Cloud Direct Link customers can benefit from secured and scalable network availability to the IBM Cloud platform.
Equinix has also joined the IBM Cloud Direct Link Service Provider Program, providing at least one Direct Link point of presence in each of IBM’s strategic markets and enabling private connections to IBM Cloud that meet the digital transformation needs of many enterprises today. With these moves, customers in 16 metros around the world can now create a secure, private cloud onramp to connect to IBM Cloud.