Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 46 | Page 56

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cloud

Equinix drives cloud-first Digital Transformation in MENA region

Equinix , a digital infrastructure

company , in association with alliance partner and global communications hub , datamena , has announced the availability of Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric ( ECX Fabric ) in the Dubai International Business Exchange ( IBX ), DX1 . This launch further underpins Equinix ’ s data centre facility as a world-class , carrier-neutral hub for the region where carriers , content providers , cloud providers , financial service and enterprise customers can colocate critical data infrastructure .
According to IDC ’ s COVID-19 Market Impact Survey , nearly half of CIOs across the Middle East , Turkey and Africa region plan to accelerate their existing digital experience efforts to reach new customers and meet operational agility needs . Investment in cloud-based solutions has skyrocketed since early 2020 in response to increasing digital demands .
ECX Fabric is an advanced interconnection solution that enables seamless , on-demand and direct access to multiple clouds and networks across the globe . By bringing together cloud service providers with enterprises consuming cloud , and enabling them to establish private , high-performance connections , ECX Fabric gives enterprises direct access to the services they need to build sophisticated hybrid cloud solutions .
Furthermore , customers can utilise the solution to extend their market reach and increase privacy , performance and reliability of cloud service connections .
The ability to exchange large volumes of data through interconnection in this way is essential to compete in the digital economy . According to Equinix ’ s 2019 – 20 Global Tech Trends Survey , seven out of 10 ( 70 %) IT decisionmakers in the UAE think interconnection is a key facilitator of Digital Transformation , with over two-thirds ( 68 %) of IT decision-makers surveyed using interconnection to reduce the cost of connectivity .
Kamel Al-Tawil , Managing Director , Middle East and North Africa , Equinix , said : “ Our alliance partnership with datamena allows Equinix to extend the transit zone offerings with the availability of ECX Fabric in the MENA region .
“ Organisations can quickly add connectivity to multiple cloud providers and other ECX Fabric participants to ensure access to the systems and applications they need to succeed .
“ Through this collaboration , we are providing enterprises with access to robust , modern data centre facilities near the digital Edge , enabling direct connections to an increasing number of clouds , customers and partners that are at the core of Digital Transformation efforts , as well as addressing pressing challenges holding businesses back from relying on the cloud for mission-critical business , including latency , security and performance issues .”
Abou Mostafa , VP , Enterprise Fixed , datamena and Broadcast , datamena , said : “ Equinix ’ s flagship cloud connectivity platform – ECX Fabric – enables businesses in MENA to rapidly scale connections between workforces and customers , as well as add connectivity to multiple cloud providers and increase network capacity . This ensures companies have access to the systems and applications needed to maintain Business Continuity and remain competitive .
“ The highly secure , scalable nature of interconnection will be fundamental for companies looking to move , store and process data at the digital Edge , with the aim of achieving superior business outcomes .” •
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