To prevent the spread of the coronavirus at its facilities, Equinix has decided to close its data centers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. As part of the company's coronavirus protection measures, "non-critical visitors, customers, contractors and suppliers of Equinix will not be allowed to enter IBX facilities" in these European countries. At other Equinix data centers around the world, entry will be by appointment only, though customers have been asked to "limit appointment requests in this unprecedented situation to the most urgent and most critical jobs." . Equinix President and CEO Charles Meyers assured customers that their data centers will remain operational in a letter to customers, stating: "We have activated our business continuity plans to ensure business continuity throughout this situation. , including provisions to ensure that all data centers remain staffed and fully operational and that our IBXs are equipped with the necessary equipment and supplies."
Smart hands
Rather than attract customers and move their own equipment into their data centers, Equinix's "Smart Hands" service requires its employees to install customer equipment. While the service costs extra, the company will "evaluate fee waivers for our Smart Hands service on a case-by-case basis" for critical requests that customers cannot afford. Equinix warehouses will also be closed and customers will not be able to pick up incoming equipment. Instead, company personnel will do the work and move any new equipment to customer racks or a storage bay. In its opinion on the matter, the company explained that "secure cabinet clients can also continue to receive shipments to the IBX." This is good news, as hyperscale clouds like AWS lease secure areas in Equinix data centers. The company's conference rooms will also be banned due to these measures and no more than five people per group are invited to visit its data centers. Anything touched by these visitors, such as doorknobs, will be disinfected to prevent the spread of the virus. through registration