A DIGITAL REVOLUTION
EQUINIX & OMANTEL
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“ There is no other place with this level of connectivity in the region . Even in the bigger data centres in Europe , it would be very rare to see something like this ”
— Sohail Qadir , VP , Wholesale Business Unit , Omantel
( IBX ) in the city of Barka - just outside the Omani capital of Muscat . The facility , MC1 , came online in early October of this year , with more than 23,600 square feet of colocation space and 725 cabinets for colocation hosting . Most importantly , the partnership has allowed Equinix to unite its global data centre network and extensive infrastructure expertise with Omantel ’ s strategically placed network of subsea cables to create the most highly connected telecom facility in the region . We sat down with Gardiner and Qadir to learn more about this unique partnership and what it means for the future of Oman as the connectivity nexus of the Middle East and beyond .
A DIGITAL REVOLUTION
As one of the world ’ s premier digital infrastructure companies , Equinix operates more than 220 colocation data centres in 26 countries globally . The Middle East , Gardiner explains , holds a great deal of promise for the company .
“ The Middle East has proven to be one of the most exciting areas of cloud growth and cloud has quickly become a key factor in the region ’ s digital transformation ,” she says . “ There ’ s been
DECEMBER 2020