Equinix, Inc, the leading global provider of network-neutral datacenters and Internet exchange services, has announced that Slide, the world's largest producer of applications for social networks, has deployed operations at Equinix's Washington, D.C.-5 Internet Business ExchangeÔäó (IBX┬«) center in Ashburn, Virginia. The move will enable Slide to operate within a high performance datacenter environment that offers the most efficient connectivity infrastructure for linking to its social network partners and to its more than 150 million users around the world.
Slide offers people the ability to engage and have fun with one another using the relationships they've already developed on social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Slide's applications rely upon fast and stable links to end-users and to the social networks where the applications are available.
Slide will use Equinix's network-rich datacenter environment to directly connect with an aggregation of strategic partners within the same physical location. By operating within this Internet ecosystem and by conveniently connecting to these partners through the Equinix Exchange central switching fabric, Slide will have the opportunity to directly link with these companies, rather than connecting to them in multiple, disparate locations and over long distances. This direct connectivity reduces bottlenecks in the path between content and end-users, providing improved performance levels and reductions in transit costs.
Equinix's DC5 center will also provide Slide with a secure and redundant physical infrastructure. Power operations at the center include a high-performance backup system that provides uninterrupted power even in the event of utility power disruption. Security features include interlocking "mantrap" doors, multiple layers of biometric hand-geometry scanners controlling access, as well as 24-hour security officers and hundreds of surveillance cameras.
"Slide requires fast and reliable connectivity to our partner social networking sites to ensure the best possible user experience with our applications, said Ken Brownfield, Director of Operations at Slide. "Equinix's Washington, D.C. area campus is one of the most well connected datacenters on the East Coast and it made the top of our list when we evaluated options for our East Coast expansion.