GLOBAL DIGITAL infrastructure firm Equinix, Inc. is targeting a higher utilization rate in its Philippine data centers as demand for co-location and interconnection services continues to grow.
“The utilization is relatively low right now,” Equinix President for Asia-Pacific Cyrus Adaggra told reporters last week. “But as we fill it with customers, it will obviously grow over time. As soon as we acquired the data centers, we started talking with both our international and local customers about locating here.”
Equinix launched its Philippine operations in October, marking the opening of three data centers in Cavite and Makati. The facilities were acquired last year from Total Information Management Corp. (TIM), signaling the company’s entry into the country’s fast-growing data infrastructure market.
Mr. Adaggra said Equinix is focusing on increasing the use of its existing facilities before pursuing further expansion. “We are focusing on the three data centers that we have here, and then we will continue to expand as this data center continues to be fully utilized.”
He added that the company has room to grow within its existing Cavite site. “The good news is that on this piece of land, we’ve got the ability to build our next data center. We don’t need to look for new land, and we know the local utility can provide us with more power at this location,” he said.
Equinix’s data centers provide high-speed interconnection services, giving enterprises direct access to cloud platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) providers and major network ecosystems through secure private links. The company operates more than 260 data centers globally across 70 markets.
The Philippines is a key part of Equinix’s broader Southeast Asian expansion strategy, which includes new projects in Malaysia and Indonesia. The company said it sees strong growth potential in the country’s digital economy and a rising need for secure, scalable data infrastructure.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) projects that the Philippines’ data center capacity could reach 1.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2028 as both local and foreign operators ramp up investments. — Ashley Erika O. Jose