DE-CIX is an SME and provides interconnection services such as peering, the settlement-free exchange of Internet traffic, with just below 100 Employees and is owned by the eco association, Europe’s largest non-profit association for the Internet industry

DE-CIX was founded in 1995 as Internet Exchange in Frankfurt^[1] and is today the world’s leading interconnection platform, managing more than 6 Terabits per second peak traffic. In addition to Frankfurt, DE-CIX offers interconnection services at four more Internet Exchanges in Germany^[2].

In 2012, DE-CIX took abroad its specific know how and experience in establishing and operating Internet Exchanges and now operates interconnection platforms in the many metro markets.

DE-CIX provides network interconnection platforms which are the heart of today's and tomorrow's Internet infrastructure. To ensure that the Internet runs securely and smoothly, more than 1,500 networks worldwide trust its experience and service quality.

Carrier and data center neutrality is a basic principle at DE-CIX. All its platforms are distributed platforms, offering access via multiple carriers and multiple data centers. With just one connection, networks get access to hundreds of networks.

Ever since its inception, DE-CIX has been motivated by the ambition to improve the quality of the Internet and access to information around the globe, and to grow new markets. This ambition remains just as valid today, as it paves the way for the 2020’s and 2030’s. In the digital world of today and tomorrow, access to global data flows is as essential for business as the provision of electricity was for the industrial world. DE-CIX, and its customer base that interconnects over DE-CIX’s ever-growing global family of Internet Exchanges, brings connectivity to the world, and will continue to provide access to information and digital services to an increasing number of developed and developing markets in all corners of the world.

To date, DE-CIX has created and is growing eighteen Internet Exchanges on four continents, including Europe, North America, the Middle East, and India. Its goal for the coming years is to enable new and existing ecosystems in all major telecommunication-markets across the globe. The geographic coverage of DE-CIX, paired with the variety of interconnection services, will allow connected networks, whether they are acting regionally or globally, to get DE-CIX interconnection services customized to their needs from both a geographical perspective and in terms of their respective business models.

Digital is reshaping how business is done:

DE-CIX is at the cusp of a completely new age in global economics, with organizations redefining their activities and their sectors on the basis of digitalization. As they become more digital, organizations will need a new interconnection service regime for their new services. New and transformative technologies, like IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and 5G are accelerating the pace of change in markets around the globe.

Long and well-established digital companies are changing their business models and going into new sectors. The classic network operator as the historical core customer of DE-CIX is no longer just a network operator: tech companies are entering different sectors and the variety of different products is increasing. We no longer have the clear delineation of network operators that we had even five years ago.

But it’s not only the digital companies that are transforming. Old industry is redefining itself and its products in the digital era. Organizations are leveraging their digital strength to reshape their own business models, in turn transforming how business is done within and across entire sectors, including the automotive/mobility, healthcare, finance, and media sectors.

Classic network operators as we know them today are historically the core for DE-CIX and they remain key to DE-CIX’s activities. However, we see a need for new interconnection services for enterprises, paired with cloud connectivity and with global capacity interconnection needs.

Digital markets demand high-performance, flexible, and customized interconnection:

For this reason, the DE-CIX platforms and ecosystems need to be able to cater for a variety of different services. The interconnection regime in the future will require flexibility in terms of different interconnection models and will need to cater for different types of capacity needs, such as peering, cloud connectivity, security services, and many more.

To satisfy modern enterprises’ requirements for reliable, high bandwidth, and secure connectivity within their exclusive supply chain networks, DE-CIX is preparing the ground for the “Enterprise-IX”. Enterprise-IX will tailor the benefits of the cutting-edge DE-CIX connectivity platform to the requirements of digital enterprises, with specialized security services, SLAs, and easy-to-manage connectivity to distributed production facilities and corporate partners. The goal of Enterprise IX will be to generate greater value for verticals through world-class connectivity, allowing them the freedom and flexibility to optimally profit from the digital revolution.

At DE-CIX, we have created an extremely successful and vibrant interconnection ecosystems over a period of decades. We are using these ecosystems to introduce new services following the route of innovation, disruption, and neutrality. At the heart of the DE-CIX strategy is the continued promotion of the direct, cost-efficient, and resource-efficient use of interconnection.

DE-CIX will continue to follow the path of terrestrial and sub-sea traffic flows; new, non-terrestrial dimensions are now being added to global connectivity potential. The combined power of the DE-CIX interconnectivity platforms and the ever-stronger satellite industry can be leveraged to bring connectivity solutions to hard-to-reach corners of the planet, opening up new locations and new market potential for connected customers. With the vision of the “Space-IX”, DE-CIX continues to lead the way in developing innovative connectivity solutions for a changing world and wants to do justice to its mandate of improving the quality of the Internet and access to information around the globe.

With these approaches and with all our activities, our goal is to improve the quality of the Internet and access to information wherever it is required. Digital infrastructure is essential to allowing people to gain access to information, education, and improved health care services, and to have the chance to enjoy full and equal participation in digital life. This is all the more important in rural areas that do not have proper connectivity today.

^[1] https://www.de-cix.net/en/locations/germany/frankfurt

^[2] https://www.de-cix.net/en/locations/germany