Equinix pours $39m more into Melbourne data centre

Data centre operator Equinix will invest US$28 million (A$39 million) into expanding its Melbourne ME1 International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre to offer an extra 750 cabinets by the first quarter of next year.

Equinix said the investment was in response to increasing demand from enterprises for cloud service in Melbourne, citing Telsyte figures that predicted the local infrastructure-as-a-service market would grow from $366 million this year to $775 million in 2019.

The A$60 million ME1 IBX went live earlier this year. It is Equinix's fourth facility in Australia.

The extra A$39 million investment will take ME1 to 1125 cabinets, Equinix said. The 9800 square metre data centre has total capacity for 1500 cabinets.

Around 375 cabinets will be provided by the fourth quarter of this year, and the remaining 375 cabinets will become available in Q1 next year.

Among the facility's customers are Telstra, Vocus, Bulletproof, Microsoft and Symantec, among around 70 others, the company said.

As part of its US$227 million global expansion, Equinix will also soon cut the ribbon on its fifth Australian data centre - and fourth in Sydney - SY4. 

In April the company said it would invest more than US$97 million in the facility, which will take up 12,500 square metres in Alexandria, close to Equinx's existing SY1, SY2 and SY3 facilities.

It will house 3000 cabinets at full build, with an initial 1500 cabinets expected to be complete in the second quarter of next year. A dense dedicated fibre loop will connect SY4 to its sister facilities in the area.