Packet.com, the bare metal server company acquired by Equinix seven months ago for $335 million dollars, has been rebranded and re-launched as Equinix Metal. The acquisition and now relaunch represent a major shift for the colocation, data center, and interconnection behemoth.
For a company known as a data center REIT, the Packet acquisition marks the start of a new direction and focus outside of the traditional data center business. “The acquisition of Packet changes the formula for the company,” said Karl Strohmeyer, Chief Customer and Revenue Officer at Equinix.
On the second quarter 2020 earnings call, Equinix CEO Charles Meyers had this to say about the Packet acquisition.
This was a way for us to continue to adapt to the changing consumption patterns of our customers in terms of how they want to gain access to the value of the Equinix Platform. By adding the bare-metal service that Packet brings to the table and integrating that with the bare-metal service that we had under development organically, we think this really represents a big opportunity for us to continue to adapt to those changing needs.
I agree with Charles Meyer and his view on the changing consumption patterns in the data center industry. The combination of co-location, bare metal servers and interconnection represent the future data centers and buyers preferences. Cloud computing services like bare metal will also play an increasingly important role in internet of things (IoT), edge computing, and artificial intelligence (Ai) technologies.
As for business use cases, Equinix Metal will be used to deliver hybrid cloud infrastructure consisting of colocation and bare metal cloud, DevOps automation, delivery of edge computing, and compliance with data residency regulations.
The Packet.com rebranding news was accompanied by additional updates on the strategy and direction of bare metal services within the Equinix ecosystem.
100% Automation of Bare Metal Servers
Equinix Metal will focus on 100% automation of its bare metal servers and services. This includes click and configure provisioning via API and common libraries with multi-cloud deployment and management tools.
Expanded Global Footprint
The global footprint for Equinix Metal will be expanded from four metros to more than 10 in the near term.
Developer Friendly + Integrations
Equinix Metal will focus on being developer-friendly and offer more options when it comes to integrating with a wide range of software companies.
Interconnected Ecosystem
Last but not least, Equinix Metal will be fully integrated with Equinix Fabric. This will allow for private connections to thousands of clouds, networks, content providers, SaaS companies, municipalities, and enterprises. View all of the companies you can connect to at each of Equinix’s data center facilities.
Need Help With Equinix Bare Metal or Colocation?
According to Datacenters.com, there are currently 210 Equinix data center locations in 10 countries. Datacenters.com is an authorized partner of Equinix and has the ability to providing pricing for both bare metal and colocation services at their data center facilities.
Need help determining your requirements, as a value-add, we provide free technical advisory services from colocation and cloud experts. Find out more by clicking here today!
