By Business & Finance 
Cloud gaming company leveraging interconnection and edge computing to expand service model and offering across EMEA and Asia
Equinix, Inc., a digital infrastructure company, today announced it is supporting cloud gaming company Loudplay’s global expansion to new markets, in collaboration with its channel partner AirSpeed. Loudplay is leveraging Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric to provide security and reliability for cloud gamers, aiming to reach 500,000 users by year-end 2021.
Founded in 2015, with its global headquarters located in Dublin, Ireland, Loudplay originated as a cloud gaming portal. However, in conjunction with Equinix and AirSpeed, Loudplay has evolved its platform to provide an extended business-to-consumer (B2C) offering, as well as a business-to-business (B2B) service.
The Loudplay platform can be used to access resource demanding consumer applications—such as Adobe Creative Cloud, VR applications and software for students with engineering, design and architecture specialties—as well as GPU-intensive business applications, like computer aided design or manufacturing, 3D modelling and heavy industrial software solutions.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Loudplay has seen a more than 110% increase in users on its platform. Through Equinix’s partnership with AirSpeed, Loudplay is now using ECX Fabric to expand further across EMEA and Asia, with plans to increase its user base from 200,000 users to 500,000 by year-end 2021, by enabling—through its cloud platform—high-end PC gaming on any device.
Over the past five years, and in conjunction with global technology leaders such as Equinix, Loudplay has built a unique high-performance cloud platform.
CEO of Loudplay, Kenneth Blowers, said: “Over the past five years, and in conjunction with global technology leaders such as Equinix, Loudplay has built a unique high-performance cloud platform. Our challenge was to ensure that as we expanded our business into new markets and across vast distances, we could maintain the very best user experience.
“Loudplay is an innovator and disruptor in the field of cloud-based technologies and building our own infrastructure across disparate locations wasn’t an option. Equinix’s ECX Fabric through AirSpeed provides us with a cost-effective and unrivalled reach to our target markets that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. We have an aggressive strategy to make our platform the very best and it is our key selling point when negotiating partnerships with telecom providers. AirSpeed and Equinix’s interconnection services and cutting-edge technology continue to help differentiate our platform.”
Kevin O’Connor, Partner Account Manager, Equinix echoed Mr Blowers’ sentiments: “Research from Equinix has shown that cloud is the number one driver of channel engagement as businesses continue to migrate away from on-premises infrastructure to colocation and the cloud. Through our channel partners, such as AirSpeed, we are helping more businesses to realise the benefits of cloud. Loudplay is an innovative company that is embracing the full potential of cloud to facilitate multinational expansion quickly and affordably. ECX Fabric is ideally suited to cloud gaming providers based on its ability to provide high-speed, secure and uninterrupted service for users.”
Matt George, Director of Field Development, EMEA, Equinix said: “Speed is essential for an optimal gaming experience and arguably the key challenge for gaming companies to address. High latency or lag is a primary cause of player frustration. Through Loudplay’s investment in edge computing, the company is endeavouring to support a ping rate of 20-30 milliseconds or less—depending on the technical infrastructure available in the market—ensuring excellent performance and a rich gaming experience. Placing cloud gaming platforms at the edge and being closer to the users, enables a better Quality of Experience on whatever device they are using.”
Earlier this year, Equinix announced a new partnership with Irish telecommunications service provider, AirSpeed Telecom, to offer businesses across Ireland reliable connectivity to streamline cloud migration and increase business performance.
