Equinix, a digital infrastructure company, has unveiled a new data centre in Singapore to meet growing demand for cloud connectivity for enterprises undergoing digital transformation.

The company’s fifth International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre, to be named SG5, will involve an initial investment of US$144 million and is scheduled to open in the first half of 2021. It will have a capacity of more than 1,300 cabinets in the first phase.

As cloud adoption is accelerating and growing in complexity, businesses increasingly rely on hybrid and multi-cloud ecosystems for agility and scalability, Equinix says.

The company says the new data centre is aligned with Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative, which is driving businesses in the country to rapidly undertake digital transformation to build resiliency and stay competitive in the digital economy.

The new purpose-built, nine-storey facility will be located at the Tanjong Kling data centre park. SG5 will be directly connected to the four existing Equinix IBX data centres in Singapore via low-latency dark fibre links and will enable customers to securely interconnect with more than 705 companies in the market.

Customers will be able to choose from a broad range of network services from over 200 providers, and interconnect directly to customers and partners in their digital supply chain, Equinix adds.

Sandra Ng, group vice president, practice group, at IDC Asia/Pacific, comments: “Digital infrastructure is key to success and competitive advantage for enterprises in the next normal. IDC’s CEO research in early 2020 showed that the leading priority among CEOs in Asia-Pacific is building a digital IT infrastructure that supports resilient operations and pervasive experiences. Equinix's investment in Singapore will further strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure to support its Smart Nation journey as well as enterprise digitalization and resiliency.”