AI compute needs are evolving as the balance shifts from training to inferencing workloads that require higher data center performance and customized services. The change has created new opportunities for colocation service providers.
Equinix is one company promoting collaboration within its partner ecosystem to meet this growing need.
“Very seldom are we seeing a single partner solution,” Equinix SVP of Platform Alliances Lisa Miller told Channel Dive. Managed service providers, value added resellers, technology advisors and OEMs are all playing their roles.
Miller pointed to the private AI managed service Equinix runs in collaboration with Nvidia, and its AI Factory that incorporates Dell servers and storage. MSPs and systems integrators have layered their services into both projects, Miller said.
Other partners say colocation has become a team effort. Tech services distributor Avant has forged alliances with MSPs, GPU-as-a-service providers and equipment manufacturers for colocation deals.
“There is a lot of collaboration needed for companies who are rebalancing cloud workloads with customers moving back to colo, private cloud and hybrid environments,” Chip Hoisington, Avant VP of engineering connectivity, colo and wireless, said in an email.
Complexity rises
Customers historically prioritized pricing when they rent data center space. But cost has taken a backseat to technical capabilities as workload complexity grows, Miller said
Performance is now the top priority as customers place a premium on latency concerns. Additionally, data sovereignty issues can be challenging for a single provider to address if they are colocated in multiple countries.
Customers are also weighing risks. Avant's 2024 State of Disruption report found that security concerns and customization requirements are the two most common reasons businesses avoid colocation.
“Sometimes people may think, ‘Gosh, it's going to be simpler,’”Miller said. “Well, maybe for very high technology companies, but there is a significant amount of enterprise that is really going to need partners to come in and help embrace that,”
A channel opportunity
Analysts have questioned how directly channel partners will benefit from the wave of new capital flooding data center market, but colocation is a clear area of opportunity. Custom Market Insights valued the data center colocation industry at $84.5 billion globally for 2025 and predicted it to grow 14% to $275 billion by 2034.
Equinix, with its arsenal of 270 data centers, stands to earn a share of that revenue with the help of its partners.
Miller said the $8.7 billion company drives 30% of its bookings indirectly and intends to increase the number as it grows its revenue. Equinix added $394 million in annualized bookings last quarter. The company broke booking records in its technology service distributor channel over the last two years and is expanding in multiple routes to market.
Even partners from outside the channel are knocking at the door, Miller said. Interest is rising from commercial real estate brokers, who now see data centers as a worthwhile property to transact.
The company increased automation in its channel program this year with a new partner relationship management platform. Equinix and partners will use the PRM to track their tier levels and objectives and market development funds.
“Our systems have been a little light, so the PRM tool is really going to accelerate [visibility],” Miller said.
