Equinix is to expand its Cloud Exchange, making the platform available to new markets in Dublin, Milan and Stockholm.

Equinix Cloud Exchange is an interconnection solution that enables on-demand and direct access to multiple clouds across the globe.

Already, Equinix’s data centres house a cloud ecosystem of over 500 Cloud Service Providers and SaaS solutions globally, while its Cloud Exchange offers direct, private connections to more than 50 CSPs including AWS, Google Cloud, IBM SoftLayer, Microsoft Azure and more.

Eric Schwartz, President, Equinix EMEA said: “When Equinix introduced Cloud Exchange, businesses were just beginning to leverage the cloud but there was still serious scepticism around performance and security.

“Over the last few years however, global business adoption of cloud has been tremendous and now we see customers securely connecting to many clouds across multiple regions all on the Equinix Cloud Exchange.”

Read more: Equinix enhances its Cloud Exchange with direct access to Salesforce platform

It provides direct, private access to multiple cloud providers for new markets supports European businesses that are undergoing digital transformation and also enables global enterprises to orchestrate hybrid and multi-cloud solutions across multiple locations and gain the global scale, performance and security they need to compete.

The addition of Equinix Cloud Exchange to the three new markets, together with the five already existing European markets, provides companies with more ability to access low-latency, private cloud connectivity without going over the public internet or a WAN.

This allows more businesses based in Europe to leverage the performance, security and a consistent quality of experience that only direct, private connectivity can deliver.

The European Commission said: “The huge potential of the digital economy is underexploited in Europe, with 41 percent of enterprises being non-digital, and only two percent taking full advantage of digital opportunities.

“As European businesses undergo digital transformation, many will turn to cloud-based technologies as the cloud has been a catalyst for global IT transformation.”

In support of this shift, Equinix plans to make its Cloud Exchange solution available in 24 markets by the end of 2017, starting with Dublin which will be available by the end of March and Milan and Stockholm which will be available in September.