Global interconnector Equinix has made the Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute service available from its London data center in addition to its Washington DC and Silicon Valley International Business exchange (IBX) data center.

This is the third rollout and there are 13 additional venues to be added across Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America by the end of 2014.

Microsoft Azure customers will have entry to Equinix’s ecosystems, which host 1,200 cloud and IT service providers, as well as 975 networks.

Equinix customers can now connect to Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute via cross-connects or direct access to the Equinix Cloud Exchange at the London data centre (LD5).

The rational, according to a statement issued by the data center company, is for clients to get a secure, private, virtual connection from Equinix to the Windows Azure cloud platform of services.

The London ExpressRoute connection gives enterprise customers access to dedicated, high-speed links.

Clients can now shift information and applications between Windows Azure and the IT infrastructure they’ve located at Equinix.

A spokesperson for Equinix said the new arrangement will help cut costs for clients, lower latency and make network performance more predictable for clients, in comparison to Internet-based connections.

Last Monday (July 14 2014) Equinix announced the general availability of Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute via its Equinix Cloud Exchange in its Washington DC market.