- Nearly two years after its $320 million acquisition of MainOne, Equinix has finalised the integration process
- MainOne will retain its name as "MainOne, Solutions by Equinix," while its MDXi data centre division will operate under the Equinix brand
- MainOne’s facilities are now interconnected with Equinix's global network, enabling efficient data sharing and redundancy across Nigeria and internationally
Equinix, a US-based data centre and colocation provider for enterprise networks, has completed its post-acquisition integration of Nigeria-born connectivity company MainOne.
This integration, which follows a $320 million acquisition in 2022, marks a significant step in establishing Equinix's foothold in Nigeria's growing data centre market.
Integrations following a merger typically involve unifying and rearranging assets, resources, and personnel. In MainOne's case, the integration has led to employees receiving new contracts, which included a pay increase.
However, according to some employees, the pay bump was lower than expected, causing delays in contract signings.
The integration process took nearly two years because of the complex workload migration involving moving data, applications, and IT processes across various environments.
This process typically entails the transfer of resources between physical servers, virtual machines, or different infrastructures. Given the two companies' size and various product portfolios, pricing, and operation support systems, such integrations are expected to take time.
While MainOne has yet to comment on the integration, it’s evident that it follows a pattern in similar acquisitions across Africa, including those involving 9mobile and Medallion. Each case demonstrated the challenges of aligning corporate cultures, systems, and processes.
MainOne will retain its brand as "MainOne, Solutions by Equinix," while its data centre division, MDXi, will operate under the Equinix name. Funke Opeke will continue to lead the company as managing director alongside the existing MDXi leadership. Over time, Equinix’s global corporate culture is expected to be gradually introduced.
The changes establish Equinix as one of the prominent operators in the Nigerian cable and data centre markets, a position the company has occupied since it entered the market in January 2010 when it landed its submarine cable in Lagos. MainOne, Solutions by Equinix, will continue to focus on the internet service provision and cable business as a department under the Equinix group.
Equinix has ambitious plans for the Nigerian market, including three new data centre projects. These include an interconnection hub in Victoria Island to be completed in 2025, a 1,000+ rack data centre in Lekki scheduled for 2026, and another centre in Port Harcourt, where construction has already begun, boosted by the landing of Meta’s 2Africa submarine cable.
The expansion is timely as Nigeria's demand for data centre services rises, with local operators like Rack Centre, Medallion, and Open Access Data Centre (OADC) also scaling up operations.
Equinix’s presence strengthens competition and enhances Nigeria's capacity to handle growing digital demands for data centre services.
Telecom giants like MTN and Airtel have announced plans to enter the data centre market, creating a more competitive environment for hosting services.
“I think it is a good buy for Equinix – safe entry into a large market where their global customers already have a presence, making it easier to serve them,” the telecom industry executive said.
Equinix is enhancing its fibre network in Nigeria, with metro fibre already in Akwa Ibom. The company is now extending this fibre capacity through the 2Africa cable to Port Harcourt in Rivers State, where it will connect to the newly planned data centre. There are plans to connect the entire South-South region using fibre cables.
MDXi operated two data centres in Lagos, now fully controlled by Equinix. These centres will be interconnected with Equinix’s global network of 260 data centres across 71 cities in 33 countries. This interconnectivity enables seamless data sharing, content delivery, and backup redundancy through Data Centre Interconnect (DCI) technology, allowing for data movement across distances, whether within Nigeria or over long transoceanic routes like the Pacific or Atlantic.
Nigeria was Equinix’s first venture into the African market in 2022, and the company has since expanded to South Africa, where it will launch a new data centre in Johannesburg on October 23, 2024.
Telecom experts propose strategies to protect Nigeria's infrastructure from cyber threats
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the telecommunications infrastructure company IHS Towers, the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had proposed a series of strategies to safeguard Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure from cyber threats, theft, and vandalism. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of a collaborative national effort, urging regulators, operators, and citizens to protect telecom assets.
The NCC formed a committee to update and implement a robust protection plan, with a new version expected before the end of the year.