Equinix launches first data centre in Chennai
Targeted squarely at enterprise workloads.
Equinix has announced the opening of its first data centre in Chennai, India. Though the announcement comes with the usual fanfare about AI capabilities, the technical specifications tell a different story. This is very much a traditional enterprise data centre, designed for standard workloads.
New Chennai data centre
The CN1 data centre is located in Siruseri on an almost-six-acre plot of land. It's a 4-level facility with liquid cooling "readiness."
Equinix invested US$69 million in the facility, which offers connectivity with its Mumbai campus and positioning near future cable landing stations. According to Equinix's website, CN1 was originally scheduled to open in Q4 2024, though it's not clear what caused the delay.
This marks Equinix's expansion beyond Mumbai, where it operates three data centres (MB1, MB2, MB4) with a fourth (MB3) under construction.
A closer look at its specifications
A technical specifications sheet on Equinix's website dated May last year offered more details about the CN1 data centre. The numbers are revealing: 4-6kW per rack, floor loading of 12kN/m2, and 3.24MW initially with 24MW IT load when fully built-up. Three diverse fibre paths and two power sources round out the infrastructure.
From the specifications, CN1 is a fairly standard enterprise data centre. While it's possible that riser pipes are upsized, the relatively low floor loading and limited power capacity means AI workloads will be the exception, not the norm.
As I wrote over the weekend, the data centre is just another business, with investors expecting returns, operators managing margins, and customers comparing costs. Customers are ruthlessly pragmatic, choosing technologies and systems that best meet their needs, and paying not a cent more for things they don't need.
Is Equinix expecting to serve customers who need to run AI workloads out of CN1? From the specifications, it would appear that the answer is a "no."
A different market
It's widely known that India needs a lot more data centres to power its internal digital infrastructure requirements. But what I didn't realise was how different - and challenging - the Indian market is.
I learned about this recently in a conversation with an executive from a major equipment manufacturer, who told me about the hyper-competitive Indian market. Indeed, it's the reason why many global organisations appoint executives just to oversee Indian operations and maintain distinct ledgers apart from the global books.
In my view, the Chennai facility represents Equinix's pragmatic bet on capturing traditional enterprise demand in India's challenging market, where specifications matter more than marketing hype.
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