M&A, IT assets, Japan, Korea, edge, data location, performance, client wins
A busy week saw more M&A and strategic investment activity, notable developments in Japan and Korea, while service providers continue to extend infrastructure footprints out to the edge on a global basis.
Iron Mountain continues to build its data centre business and the just completed acquisition of ITRenew gives it new capabilities around hardware disposition and recycling, which could prove to be a key differentiator, especially when it comes to hyperscalers and the large volumes of IT assets they consume, along with their increasingly important ESG requirements.
Other transactions saw data centre operator atNorth take on new ownership and MSP Netrix acquire a cybersecurity specialist. On the strategic investment side, DigitalBridge closed a second fund ahead of target, while Keppel Capital closed a second data centre fund.
Providers continue to win deals that speak to the growing sophistication and complexity of infrastructure deployments. Equinix won financial services and grocery customers, while Rackspace is serving more hybrid customers.
Customers increasingly need to move into multiple markets. Rackspace expanded Pipedrive to the UK, Acronis now has locations in Africa and Maxihost helped a blockchain customer expand into Latin America. Data location and performance continue to be closely intertwined.
Finally, there were a number of interesting developments coming out of Japan and South Korea. Newly formed FLOW Digital Infrastructure is evaluating the Japan market and hired a new CEO from Digital Realty, STACK Infrastructure entered the market with a project in Inzai, while the Japanese government is working on an initiative to help decentralize submarine cable landing bases across the country. Meanwhile, Digital Realty added another dot on its map with the launch of a new data centre in Seoul, South Korea.
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