June 2025
Why Data Center Interconnect Is Essential to Modern Infrastructure
The ability to access, process, and move data across borders is no longer just a technological advantage, it’s a competitive necessity. As digital infrastructure becomes more complex and globally distributed, the demand for reliable, scalable interconnectivity continues to rise. Today’s enterprises aren't simply managing IT assets in isolated silos; they are orchestrating ecosystems that span cloud platforms, edge nodes, and legacy systems— all requiring seamless integration across all components. This is where Data Center Interconnect (DCI) comes in. Once considered niche, DCI is now a fundamental enabler of modern enterprise infrastructure, supporting business continuity, powering digital transformation, and enabling global scalability.
What is DCI?
DCI refers to the architectural framework that links two or more geographically separated facilities, allowing them to operate as a unified environment. It facilitates seamless communication, data replication, and application mobility, whether between nearby sites or those on opposite sides of the world.
Several forces are driving the growth of DCI:
- A shortage of physical space for new data centers
- An exponential surge in data generation
- Accelerated cloud adoption
- The push for digital transformation
As enterprises face mounting pressure to interconnect distributed infrastructure, the need for high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity has never been greater. The global DCI market is expected to exceed $8 billion by 2030, driven by critical use cases across industries such as finance, healthcare, media, and e-commerce.
What are the three types of interconnect?
There are three foundational types of Data Center Interconnect (DCI), each influencing how data centers are designed, built, and interconnected.
- Layer 1 (Physical Interconnect) refers to direct optical fiber connections between data centers. These links offer the highest speed, minimal latency, and maximum bandwidth, making them ideal for high-performance workloads and real-time replication. From a design perspective, implementing Layer 1 interconnects requires dedicated fiber infrastructure and often line-of-sight or right-of-way access between sites. This necessity shapes the physical placement of facilities, encourages the development of carrier-neutral campuses, and drives investment in optical switching and dense fiber pathways. Co-located or closely situated campuses are common where Layer 1 is prioritised.
- Layer 2 (Data Link Interconnect) is Ethernet-based and extends local area networks (LANs) across multiple data center sites. This allows for seamless VLAN extension and supports virtualised environments. Its impact on data center design includes the need for resilient Layer 2 switching fabrics and redundant network paths. It also supports live virtual machine (VM) migration between sites, influencing how server racks are organised and where virtualisation platforms are deployed. Layer 2 is especially useful in metro-area interconnects where latency and failover capabilities are critical.
- Layer 3 (Network Interconnect) relies on IP routing to connect data centers across broader geographic distances, using the internet or private wide area networks (WANs). It is vital for large-scale scalability and hybrid or multi-cloud architectures. In terms of design, data centers employing Layer 3 interconnects require robust IP routing infrastructure, multi-homed edge connections, and intelligent traffic engineering. These setups influence architectural choices related to network segmentation, security zoning, and the integration of public cloud services.
Understanding and strategically combining these interconnect layers forms the foundation of an efficient DCI strategy. Each layer not only serves a specific technical purpose but also directly affects how data centers are physically built, logically structured, and interconnected to serve modern enterprise demands.
Where are global DCI hubs?
DCI ecosystems revolve around metro regions with dense network infrastructure, internet exchanges, and cloud availability zones. These are the world’s most critical interconnect points:
- Ashburn, Virginia (USA): Known as “Data Center Alley,” it's the leading US hub for inter-cloud peering and digital traffic.
- Frankfurt, Germany: Anchored by DE-CIX, the world’s largest IXP, and supported by strict data regulations and central EU access.
- Amsterdam, Netherlands: Home to AMS-IX, the region's key routing hub with open data policies and advanced infrastructure.
- London, UK: With LINX and a dense business ecosystem, London is vital for finance, content delivery, and telecom interconnection.
- Singapore & Hong Kong: Key access points to Asia-Pacific, these cities excel in regulatory strength, undersea cable links, and regional cloud entry.
- Miami, New York, Los Angeles (USA): Coastal landing zones for global submarine cables. Miami connects Latin America, New York facilitates transatlantic exchange, and LA serves the Pacific Rim.
Talent hotspots vs. talent gaps
The same regions that dominate in infrastructure excel as talent hubs. Their strength lies not just in fiber and power, but in people. These areas have cultivated deep talent pools through long-term investment in training, partnerships with academic institutions, and a constant stream of complex, large-scale projects.
The result is an experienced workforce that consistently delivers Tier III and Tier IV facilities, navigates complex compliance landscapes, and executes hyperscale builds under pressure. It’s in these regions that the data center industry finds reliability not just in infrastructure, but in execution.
In contrast, emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe are racing to build capacity, but the availability of skilled professionals hasn’t caught up. Projects in these areas are often delayed not by equipment shortages or regulatory hurdles, but by a lack of experienced engineers, technicians, and project managers.
We talk a lot about power availability, land use, and fiber routes when planning the next facility, but what often gets overlooked is the people. The reality is the most advanced data centers in the world aren’t built by machines. They are delivered, operated, and refined by engineers, technicians, project managers, and facilities specialists.
This growing talent disparity is now a global issue. A delay in one region can cascade across continents. That’s why more operators are embedding talent strategy into infrastructure planning by investing in workforce development, long-term partnerships, and global recruitment before breaking ground.
Partnering to build the future
LVI Associates specialises in energy and infrastructure recruitment across the full project lifecycle. From hyperscale rollouts to edge expansions, we help organisations secure the critical talent they need to grow with confidence.
Need help with your next data center project? Request a call back from one of our specialist consultants and explore how we can support your expansion, wherever in the world you're building.