Digital infrastructure company Equinix officially opened its first two International Business Exchange (IBX) data centres in Malaysia – one in Johor and the other in Kuala Lumpur.
The Johor facility – billed as JH1 – has been in the works since Equinix first announced plans to build it in late 2022 with an initial investment of approximately US$40 million. JH1 provides 500 cabinets and 1,960 square meters of colocation space.
Meanwhile, the new facility in Kuala Lumpur – KL1, which was announced in June 2023 – is located in Cyberjaya, and is designed to provide an initial capacity of 450 cabinets and colocation space of 1,300 square metres. Once it’s fully built, KL1 will be at the same scale as JH1.
According to the Bernama news agency, Equinix said in a statement that the carrier-neutral data centres will give Malaysian-based businesses access to a global ecosystem of over 10,000 enterprises, networks and cloud service providers, while global businesses can capitalise on digital developments and opportunities in Malaysia – especially those related to development of AI.
“As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation and cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence, their need for a network-dense, cloud adjacent and on-demand digital infrastructure becomes paramount,” Equinix said.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) CEO Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid said Equinix's advanced data centres will create significant opportunities for businesses especially local enterprises to innovate and grow as they integrate with the global ecosystem.
“MIDA is dedicated to facilitating investments like Equinix’s, which not only drive economic growth but also foster innovation and create sustainable employment opportunities in Malaysia,” he told Bernama.