Equinix (EQIX), the cloud interconnection provider, continues to gain momentum -- thanks in part to channel partners, according to CEO Steve Smith.
Equinix's ecosystem allows customers to access more than 1,400 networks and 2,700 cloud and IT service providers. Moreover, roughly 150 to 200 new customers plug into the Equinix Cloud Exchange each quarter. The connections provide pipelines to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, Google Cloud Platform and Oracle Cloud, Smith indicated during an earnings call on Wednesday.
"We're also enjoying continued success in channel bookings, which account for roughly 15 percent of total bookings over the past several quarters," Smith said. "Two-thirds of this activity is from resellers who are amplifying our market reach and providing our customers with end-to-end solutions."
The overall outcome? Equinix just delivered its 55th consecutive quarter of revenue growth. And the growth is extending beyond enterprise customers.
"Our channel partners are now bringing a series of value-added services to perhaps smaller enterprise customers," said Charles J. Meyers, COO of Equinix. "We're really happy with how our channel continues to scale, but are continuing to look at investments there that are necessary. We feel like we're going to need to continue to evolve our service portfolio to really be responsive to the enterprise market opportunity.
Equinix formalized its partner program in May 2015. Among the key moves: Hiring Christopher Rajiah, a Rackspace veteran, to build and drive the partner program. So far, that move appears to be paying dividends.
So what's next? Continued rumors that Equinix may acquire Verizon's data center business. Equinix was not asked about those rumors during the earnings call. For its part, Verizon earlier this week said it was still on track to sell the data centers this quarter -- but the company didn't mention any potential buyers by name.
