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Since the 16th Century, the Netherlands has been a key center for world trade. Its strategic location – at the gateway to continental Europe – together with its belief in free trade have helped the country quickly establish itself as one of Europe’s strongest economies.

These characteristics still hold fast today. The Netherlands boasts the world’s 16th largest economy and is the EU’s second most prosperous nation, with GDP per inhabitant 30% above the EU average (figures from Eurostat, December 2010).

This vibrant economy is home to both home-grown blue-chip companies such as Unilever, Philips and ING, as well as many multinational companies that have opted to base their European operations in the country. Ernst & Young estimates that more than 400 North American firms – from small- to mid-sized businesses to giants such as Cisco Systems – have chosen to locate their European headquarters in the Netherlands.

The Dutch advantage

There are many reasons why business thrives in the Netherlands. Its geographic location makes it a magnet for firms targeting all EU markets, while its established infrastructure – seaports, airports, plus rail, road and telecommunications networks – only adds to the attraction.

A politically and economically stable country, the Netherlands also offers an extremely supportive environment for business. In stark contrast to legislation introduced by other nations its progressive corporate tax structure appeals to foreign investors with, for example, the Dutch participation exemption (deelnemingsvrijstelling) ensuring that all dividends and capital gains generated by Dutch-based subsidiaries are tax free.

The Netherlands in the digital age

Today the Internet underpins the operations of nearly all businesses, regardless of their size or sector. To compete in this digital age it’s vital that organizations have access to high-speed, ultra-reliable connectivity solutions. Here, once again, the Netherlands has a distinct advantage.

One of the most network-rich countries in the world, the Netherlands has direct access to several submarine communication cable systems delivering low-latency links to other European nations, North America and beyond.

In addition, the Dutch telecom market is one of the most progressive and competitive in the world, with numerous fiber deployments. Amsterdam is also home to AMS-IX, the world’s largest single metro area internet exchange, offering solutions to 397 internet service providers, carriers and mobile operators as well as all kinds of content and application providers.

All of these factors combine to make the Netherlands a very viable option not just for doing business but also for locating new-build data centers.

A destination of choice

Equinix entered the Dutch market following its 2008 acquisition of Virtu Secure Webservices. Serving both multinationals and local businesses, the company has since taken advantage of Amsterdam’s available space and robust power supplies (most notably wind generated power) to expand its operations in line with market need.

Today, Equinix operates two state-of-theart International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers located on a single campus in Amsterdam, as well as additional facilities in Zwolle and Enschede.

The Netherlands is a strategic location for Equinix. Demand for high specification colocation space is growing, particularly as firms struggle to justify the capital expense of building their own facilities.

This demand is both from high growth firms, especially in internet-reliant industries such as digital media, cloud and gaming, as well as from major corporations. These organizations also demand access to the broadest range ofnetwork solutions (Equinix can connect to 51 networks and via its Amsterdam Campus offers direct access to AMS-IX).

In the Netherlands, the role of the outsourced data center has become even more important as the Dutch Government increases focus on reducing CO2 emissions. The recent Multiple Year Energy Efficiency Agreement (Meerjarenafspraak Energie Efficientie) encourages more efficient industry practices, but the rate of innovation in the data center means that only specialist providers can realistically keep track with the latest ‘green’ technologies such as free cooling and hot aisle/cold-aisle configurations.

The Netherlands is not just an attractive market for global brands. Its pro-business culture, together with a highly-skilled workforce, benefits organizations of all sizes. Network operators, digital media firms, cloud providers, financial services companies and enterprises are increasingly looking to data center services to help support their operations.