The data centre provider will offer interconnection and colocation services to businesses to support IT transformation initiatives, with the first phase of the facility set to open in Q2 2019.
The new HE7 data centre will aim to support growing demand for interconnection bandwidth capacity from local and multinational enterprises operating in the region.
It will connect to Platform Equinix, which links to more than 200 data centres across 52 global markets, with 250 cabinets in its initial phase expanding to 1,475 cabinets at full build.
According to Equinix's Global Interconnection Index (GXI) Volume 2, interconnection bandwidth is expected to grow 48% per annum in Europe to reach 1,900+ Tbps by 2021, contributing to around 23% of Interconnection Bandwidth globally.
Equinix said it picked Helsinki to launch a new facility as the city serves as a digital gateway linking Russia, the Baltic states and the rest of Europe. It is also reinforced by strong connections with Europe, including subsea cable architecture such as the Cinia C-Lion1 which links Helsinki to Germany. According to Equinix, customers can benefit from a capacity of 144 terabytes per second and a latency below 20 milliseconds between Helsinki and Frankfurt.
Last year, the firm announced a partnership with Eastern Light to launch a new international fibre optic cable route in northern Europe, connecting Stockholm, Sweden, with HE6 (pictured) in Helsinki.
HE7 will also provide direct, secure and dynamic software-defined interconnection through the Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric to over 1,300 businesses including major cloud service providers such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle Cloud.
Sami Holopainen, managing director of Equinix Finland: "Many of Equinix's local customers in Helsinki are looking to grow their presence as they require interconnection to cloud and SaaS providers to support IT transformation goals. As these businesses consider their options they realize the value of a future-proof environment for their digital journey. Platform Equinix is more than 200 data centres – it is a platform for innovation."
Equinix has announced a number of expansions of late, including plans to build a new flagship data centre in London and other new facilities in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a major expansion of its largest data centre in Asia, located in Singapore.
