Colocation, hyperscale, interconnection, MSP marketplace, cloud expansions
The sector is coming out of the holiday doldrums and there were a number of noteworthy developments in recent weeks.
The colocation market continues to evolve and hyperscale cloud is at the centre. But providers are not always going after long-term, multi-MW leases, handing over the keys and getting out of the way. There is also a strategic element around driving interconnection. Cologix recently confirmed plans to push further into hyperscale data centres – this time in Ashburn, Virginia – and interconnection is a primary motivation. Equinix and its xScale offering is similarly driven. It is all about connections and Equinix’s interconnection platform – recently enhanced and re-branded as Equinix Fabric – continues to mature and evolve.
Managed third party cloud continues to stabilize as an established category and AWS is now making it possible to work with MSP partners through its online marketplace. In many ways, this is a validation of the MSP value proposition. Elsewhere in managed third party cloud, ClearDATA made use of AWS tools to enhance data location management and Bespin Global added more partnerships and is reaching into new markets.
Hyperscale expansion is sure to accelerate in 2021 and while it was quiet lately, Google Cloud did confirm plans for three more regions. One of these new regions – to be in Germany – will be in a second metro within that country. Clouds will continue to build and expand on a global basis. Many will be in new markets, but expect to see a number of mature markets to see second in-country locations.
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