One of the challenges of transitioning a data center, or global footprint of data centers, from “carrier-owned” to “carrier neutral” is getting new Network Service Providers (NSPs) to buy into the concept and invest in making the move into a new data center. Gone are the days when these NSPs would build out on spec, forecasting revenue growth and success. Today, these NSPs are much more stringent and require a positive business case before the make the jump.
At Evoque, we have successfully transitioned from an AT&T-owned business to a true carrier neutral provider. Our strategy from Day 1 was to broaden the choice of NSPs and NSP types within our data centers’ Meet-me-Rooms (MMRs). We have made significant strides and now have an average of more than seven NSPs per location.
Most recently, we announced the expansion of Megaport into four more Evoque Data Centers; Lynwood, WA, Piscataway, NJ, San Jose, CA and Watertown, MA. These facilities now enable our clients to interconnect with Cloud Service Providers and secure point-to-point connections across the global Megaport network.
Megaport’s expansion is extremely important to our growing Marketplace because it expands our cloud connectivity story. These four new locations, combined with the initial six locations where Megaport has already been available in our centers (Allen, TX, Mesa, AZ, Ashburn, VA, Lithia Springs, GA, Irvine, CA and Birmingham, UK), means that we now offer Software Defined Network (SDN) services in ten of our locations globally.
You may also recall we earlier announced a similar partnership with BSO-IX Reach; it’s in four of our international addresses and offers connectivity through a simple cross connect. With these two relationships, we now offer cloud connectivity in almost half of our global data centers.
I realize that cloud connectivity is becoming table stakes for data center providers. However, I am excited about our success in broadening our carrier density and diversity, even as we’re entering our third year as an independent firm. We know our clients and prospective clients are eager to leverage the connectivity options we have across our global footprint to grow their business – especially in these amazing times that require companies to rethink their digital transformation strategy.
