Equinix, the global interconnection and data centre company, has announced the launch of Equinix SmartKey, a global key management and encryption Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that simplifies data protection across any cloud or destination. The service leverages Equinix’s globally interconnected platform of more than 190 International Business Exchange (IBX) data centres in 48 markets to securely host encryption keys separate from, but in close proximity to, the data located across networks and hybrid multicloud environments.
According to the Global Interconnection Index, the next three years are forecasted to see approximately 50% growth in the traffic capacity needed by enterprises to directly connect with, and exchange data across, multiple clouds, IT providers and third-party network destinations. This move to disperse data across multiple clouds and third-party providers creates an immediate need that SmartKey is positioned to solve, including:
- Improving security for multicloud, hybrid-cloud and distributed environments by separating the encryption keys from the data, so that both keys and data are not held by the same entity
- Enabling firms to globally manage encryption keys across multiple, disparate regions, countries and partners
- Providing management controls to maintain data and encryption keys in the same region or country in support of data sovereignty and regulatory requirements
When implemented as a part of an Interconnection Oriented Architecture (IOA) strategy, SmartKey enables security and data professionals to achieve a globally consistent end-to-end encryption strategy with central control over access, latency, compliance and performance.
Christina Richmond, Program Vice President, Worldwide Security Services, IDC, commented:
“Digital transformation efforts by enterprises and service providers alike are moving more data and systems to the cloud, pushing an ever-increasing amount of sensitive enterprise and customer data to be stored in multi-tenant, shared computing and storage environments. This trend is being driven by data sovereignty requirements like GDPR, creating demand for secure data localisation solutions like key management-as-a-service offerings such as Equinix SmartKey.”
Lance Weaver, Vice President, Emerging Services, Equinix, added: “Given the cybersecurity risks of today’s distributed application, cloud and data environments, customers are turning to encryption as one of the most effective controls to protect their critical information, and as a result the need for private, secure, globally available key management becomes paramount. Equinix SmartKey solves this challenge by seamlessly integrating with public and hybrid clouds globally while providing the privacy that puts control of data back where it belongs–in the hands of the customer.”
