Equinix announced that construction of phase two of its third Sydney International Business Exchange IBX) data center has begun six months ahead of schedule.

Driven by high demand for premium colocation and interconnection services from cloud and financial service providers, Equinix is investing an additional US$50 million into the expansion of SY3, doubling the number of cabinets to 2,000. The expansion capital required is already reflected in the company’s 2012 guidance.

As Australia’s cloud industry is growing in size and sophistication, phase one of Equinix SY3, which opened only last year, has seen rapid uptake.

More than 60 new customers have made SY3 their home, bringing forward the construction of phase two, the company said.

One of the companies that have taken advantage of SY3 is Brennan IT, the winner of Australian Reseller News’ Cloud Provider of the Year 2011/12 award. Brennan IT is rolling out its cloud services platform to small and medium sized enterprise customers, leveraging SY3’s core infrastructure, along with the plethora of connectivity options available from 65 telecommunication networks.

Managing director, Dave Stevens, Brennan IT, said: “As we’re doubling our cloud investment every nine months, the relationship with Equinix forms an important part of our overall cloud strategy. We welcome Equinix’s plan to bring forward the investment in phase two of SY3, which will offer us further room for growth as we expand our cloud and managed services portfolio for SMEs.”

Coinciding with the expansion, Equinix also announced that its facilities in Sydney, comprising SY1, SY2 and SY3, have successfully passed the external audit for ISO 27001, the highest global standard for information security.

“Responding to increased demand from the cloud and financial services community, we’re committed to make an additional 1,000 cabinets in SY3 available as early as September 2012, six months ahead of schedule,” said Tony Simonsen, country manager, Equinix Australia.