Equinix has opened its International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in Osaka, called OS1 — its first in the western region of Japan.
The OS1 data center was opened in partnership with K-Opticom, one of the largest access providers in the Osaka/Kansai area, and Kanden Energy Solutions (KENES) with support from O-BIC, an Osaka government agency that supports foreign-owned companies establishing businesses in the region.
Osaka is located at the center of Kansai, the second largest region in Japan with a GDP of $916 billion, a size comparable to South Korea’s economy. Equinix said the region's central location, together with the strength of its economy, make Osaka the ideal second metro to support its existing Tokyo operations.
The first phase of OS1 will offer an initial 320 cabinets, expanding to over 800 in 2014.
As a carrier-neutral data center, OS1 will provide multinational telecommunications companies the ability to interconnect with multiple local network services through K-Opticom. Customers inside OS1 will have access to more than 950 domestic and international carriers, establishing Osaka as a global network hub by directly connecting to Dojima, the network core in Osaka.
Through the Equinix Internet Exchange (EIE), customers can select and peer with a wide range of network providers, optimizing transit routes and helping decrease latency to significantly improve performance.
Given the prevalence of earthquakes in Japan, OS1 has preventative measures in place in case of power supply issues or floods. With power systems that have built-in redundancy and backup generator systems in the event of a local utility failure, the structure is built to sustain potential environmental disasters. OS1 is also built with a seismic resistant system.