Infotech Lead Asia: Data center provider Equinix announced an investment of $43 million to set up its fourth International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in Tokyo.
The new facility will address demand for Equinix’s data center services in the Ōtemachi area.
Kei Furuta, managing director, Equinix Japan, said: “Tokyo is a strategic market for Equinix as it is one of the largest data center markets worldwide and a primary gateway for traffic from the U.S. to Asia. We believe our expanded presence in Japan will give our customers greater access to global network connectivity and capitalize on the opportunities presented by the Japanese market.”
Mitsubishi Estate is supporting Equinix in securing Otemachi Financial City for the TY4 data center.
Equinix said the new TY4 IBX data center will be launched in two phases, providing total capacity of 750 cabinet equivalents. The first phase, scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2013, will offer initial capacity of 450 cabinet equivalents. TY4 will have direct fiber connectivity to Equinix’s three other IBX data centers in the city, which will further facilitate customer interconnections.
IDC says the data center outsourcing market in Japan will reach $20 billion in 2015. The market will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6 percent between 2010 and 2015. In addition, the colocation market in Japan will have a CAGR of 4.2 percent in the same period of time, reaching $9.26 billion in 2015.
More than 4,000 large enterprises and financial firms are headquartered in Ōtemachi, with 10 percent listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. With limited real estate options, Equinix enlisted the help of Mitsubishi Estate, one of the leading real estate developers in Japan to assist in finding an ideal location for TY4.
“Over the years, we have been striving to make the Marunouchi and Ōtemachi area a world-class business district by leading a significant redevelopment project. Otemachi Financial City opened in October of this year as the international business core, including financial services,” said Tetsuo Yuasa, executive officer, general manager, Office Leasing and Tenant Relations Department, Mitsubishi Estate.
