Equinix, Inc. has announced a collaboration with Alibaba Cloud to provide enterprises with direct, scalable access to Alibaba Cloud via the Equinix Cloud Exchange™ in the company's Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, Sydney, and Washington, D.C., International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers, with the addition of Frankfurt and London available soon.

The cloud computing market continues to grow rapidly in Asia, and specifically China. According to the U.S. International Trade Administration, the Chinese cloud market is expected to grow at 40% per year through 2020, reaching $20 billion. Access to Alibaba Cloud is critical for multinational customers looking to expand their cloud-based applications into this growing region in a secure and high-performing manner. By providing multi-national enterprise customers with secure and direct access to Alibaba Cloud, Equinix delivers connectivity to the full suite of Alibaba cloud services to enterprises. Furthermore, Alibaba Cloud Express Connect enables companies to leverage the extensive Alibaba Cloud network in mainland China. 

"As one of the world's leading and fastest growing cloud computing companies, Alibaba Cloud represents a significant partnership for Equinix as we continue to empower businesses around the globe to build secure, private clouds, without compromising network and application performance. We are thrilled to offer direct access in markets across the U.S., Asia and Europe, and look forward to bringing additional markets online in the near future," said Greg Adgate, vice president of global technology partners and alliances, Equinix.

With the addition of direct access to Alibaba Cloud on Cloud Exchange in these new markets across Asia Pacific, EMEA and the Americas, Equinix now offers private access to Alibaba Cloud in five markets. The company previously offered access in its Singapore IBX. Alibaba Cloud is also a colocation customer in Dubai with Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC ("du").

"The global reach of Equinix Cloud Exchange makes it simple for Alibaba Cloud to access new markets. We are pleased to provide greater value and bring our services closer to enterprises by leveraging Equinix's powerful, on-demand cloud connectivity, and in particular to provide greater connectivity to the Chinese market," said Yeming Wang, deputy general manager of Alibaba Cloud Global.