B2B interconnection bandwidth to grow to nearly 10X Internet traffic estimates: Equinix Global Interconnection Index
Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX), which supplies data center services globally, has released its second annual Global Interconnection Index (GXI), a market study in which Equinix analyzes worldwide traffic exchange. This year’s GXI estimates that private “Interconnection” bandwidth between businesses will grow to more than 8,200 Tbps by 2021. The figure, equivalent to 33 zettabytes of data exchange per year, is almost 10X what Cisco’s 2017 "Visual Networking Index" estimated for total Internet traffic at that time, Equinix points out (see "Cisco updates Cisco Visual Networking Index").
The new prediction represents a significant increase from that projected in the first GXI and calls for a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48%, almost twice the 26% CAGR predicted for global IP traffic during the same time frame. Interconnection between enterprises and cloud and IT providers, projected to increase 98% annually through 2021, will drive much of this growth.
"Significant macro, technology, and regulatory trends are converging to form an unprecedented era of complexity and risk and forcing the integration of physical and digital worlds," said Sara Baack, chief marketing officer for Equinix, Inc. "The second volume of the Global Interconnection Index has found that companies are solving their increasing digital requirements by directly connecting to key business partners through Interconnection, as traditional forms of connectivity do not meet the demanding requirements of today's businesses."
The GXI identifies four use cases for Interconnection:
- Network optimization to shorten the distance between users and services applications.
- Hybrid multicloud to connect and segment traffic between multiple clouds and private infrastructure.
- Distributed security to deploy and interconnect security controls at points of digital engagement.
- Distributed data to deploy and interconnect data analytics in proximity to users.
Much of this Interconnection will take place in the United States, which will account for more than 40% of worldwide Interconnection bandwidth as it sees a CAGR of 45% during the forecast period. Europe will contribute 23% of the bandwidth total (growing 48% per annum), followed by Asia-Pacific at more than 27% (growing 51% per annum) and Latin America at more than 9% (increasing 59% per annum).
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher
Stephen Hardy has covered fiber optics for more than 15 years, and communications and technology for more than 30 years. He is responsible for establishing and executing Lightwave's editorial strategy across its digital magazine, website, newsletters, research and other information products. He has won multiple awards for his writing.
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