AMS-IX expands its data centre footprint with two new PoPs outside the Amsterdam metro

AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange), one of the world’s largest Internet hubs, is expanding its data centre footprint in the Netherlands with two new locations. As of October, they will add a Points of Presence (PoP) in the data centres of Smartdc in Rotterdam and Greenhouse Data Centers in Naaldwijk. It is the first time in the history of the organization that AMS-IX adds PoPs outside the Amsterdam metro area to the exchange in Amsterdam.

According to the governmental body of the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam The Hague, these latest expansions of AMS-IX are a great stimulus for the establishment of tech and enterprise companies in the region. Through AMS-IX, companies have direct connections with a multitude of networks regionally and globally and can therefore guarantee high quality and efficiency of digital services to be delivered. Many applications benefit from this enhanced connectivity, including live streaming, provisioning of business software, online gaming, the delivery of video calling services, or just facilitating an efficient set-up of extensive company networks.

AMS-IX is one of the largest Internet exchanges in the world and has more than 875 networks connected to the exchange in Amsterdam, including companies like ebay, Akamai, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Tele2, Worldstream, Leaseweb, GoDaddy, i3D.net, and many more.  The exchange in Amsterdam is hosted in fourteen data centres in and around Amsterdam. The data centres in South Holland will be the fifteenth and sixteenth physical locations of the node.

“The arrival of AMS-IX is of great importance for the growth of the economy in our region,” says Saskia Bruines, alderman for Economy in The Hague and also administrative leader of Digital Economy and 5G of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague. “The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Region is an attractive location for tech companies and has the ambition to host many more top-tier companies in the future.”

AMS-IX will start building the extension in South Holland this summer. “These should be ready in the fall,” says AMS-IX CEO Peter van Burgel. “These new locations are of great importance for our ambitions. The Rotterdam The Hague region has the potential to grow into a major tech hub, so it is important for us to have a presence here. Several large technology companies are already established in the Rotterdam The Hague region and there are no restrictions to facilitate rapid growth.”

“Smartdc pays close attention to optimizing its carrier ecosystem, offering an exceptional mix of in-house Tier-1 carriers and connectivity providers,” says Smartdc CEO Richard Boogaard. “With the expansion of a PoP from AMS-IX, Smartdc can offer a unique mix in terms of connectivity. At Smartdc, customers can directly pick up and connect local and international connections.”

“The deployment of the physical AMS-IX-PoP makes us even more attractive as a data center provider for companies that want to host their IT infrastructures in the Rotterdam-Den Hague region,” said Guido Sip, Chief Commercial Officer of Greenhouse Datacenters. “Customers will now have even more opportunities to achieve the very highest reliability and network connection speeds for interconnectivity and international connections. It also represents a significant expansion in terms of options to optimize network traffic and associated costs, for example during large-scale live events including major international sporting events.”