A transatlantic submarine cable, then a data storage center… Little by little, Bordeaux is emerging as a “digital hub”.
Orange first announced the arrival of the Amitié cable, connecting the United States to Europe, in the suburbs of Bordeaux.
Next, Equinix unveils a new BX1s data storage center, the first to be established in the metropolis.
The group is investing around $ 32 million in the first phase of construction.
In twelve years of presence on French territory, it has invested more than "
a billion dollars to date, with more than 300 million dollars of projects currently announced in development
".
“
This data warehouse is innovative in many ways.
This is the first time that we have built a data center on the basis of the arrival of a submarine cable.
It is also the first time that we have built a modular center.
Finally, this is our first establishment in a large city which is not a megalopolis
”, summarizes Régis Castagné, Managing Director France, Equinix.
This development testifies to a double movement.
After Marseille, the Bordeaux region could in turn establish itself as crucial, with on the one hand the landing of submarine cables, Amitié being only the first, and on the other hand, the development of data centers.
The latter will themselves encourage telecom operators to strengthen their presence in the Bordeaux basin.
Read also: Marseille, future French capital of the Internet
The BX1 also marks an evolution in the choice of data center locations.
"
With the development of edge computing (
the processing of data as close as possible to its source
) and locally, the world needs to be linked at a distance of less than 5 milliseconds
", analyzes Régis Castagné.
Knowing that the speed of light is the limit, the proximity of the data centers to the places of data generation is a way to reduce the latency rate.
“
BX1 is going to be linked to the entire Equinix ecosystem.
Before, it was necessary to seek the services of the large hosting companies in Paris.
Tomorrow, they will be accessible from a larger part of the territories,
”adds Régis Castagné.
Data centers closer to users
This configuration prefigures the new mapping of Cloud and Edge Computing, with smaller data centers - the one in Bordeaux will have a capacity of 6 Mega Watts when it is fully deployed, against 20 for the largest - but better distributed across the territory, in order to be closer to the data production centers: factories and smart cities, mainly.
The distribution of these storage centers will also have an impact on employment.
In Bordeaux, Equinix is counting on around fifty new jobs, not counting those linked to the construction of buildings.
Finally, the Bordeaux data center is a state-of-the-art center, so it is designed to be as efficient as possible in terms of energy resources.
It consumes 100% renewable energy.
The group is also in discussions with Engie to develop a solar farm that could supply its Bordeaux center.
In addition, Equinix is already claiming carbon neutrality in France.
The group aims to do so for all of its 226 data centers around the world by 2030.