REDWOOD CITY, Calif. and LONDON, Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, has collaborated with Lloyd's and the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) to enhance a catastrophe risk modeling platform that could change the face of the insurance industry.

The Oasis Loss Modeling Framework is potentially one of the most radical shake-ups in the catastrophe modeling sector in years. Hosted in Equinix's interconnected insurance ecosystem, it gives insurers in the multi-billion dollar catastrophe insurance market access to a wider range of model providers from around the world.

The latest release of the framework, just announced, has now made it fully open source - encouraging greater collaboration and enabling users to share data and information to further improve their models.

Collaboration has been the focus of the project from the start. The creation of the framework required the involvement of players from across the industry, with Equinix, Lloyd's and the LMA gathering 10 managing agents together to implement and test the system within Equinix's London International Business Exchange(TM) (IBX®) data center (LD5).

This unprecedented level of collaboration, also involving Equinix partners Cinnober and Datapipe, enables insurance companies to enhance their modeling capability - modeling anything from wild fires in Australia to hurricanes in the Americas - to ultimately improve the terms they can offer to their clients.

Equinix's global interconnection platform simplifies the sharing of data between multiple stakeholders in global insurance markets - from life to property and casualty. Market participants directly connect to one another, enhancing the performance of risk modeling systems and the secure consumption of cloud technologies, while lowering IT, bandwidth and network connectivity costs.

The Oasis framework was developed over five years at a cost of $4 million. It is expected to lead to significant savings in modeling in the coming years.

Highlights / Key Facts


    --  The launch of the LMA framework is coming at a time when catastrophic
        events such as Hurricane Matthew are happening with increasing regularly
        - with insurers often footing the bill.
    --  The Oasis Loss Modeling Framework was modeled using data shared by 10
        managing agents - several of whom are existing customers of Equinix -
        who collaborated specially on this project. It also uses Applied
        Research Associates' HurLoss model. Additionally, Equinix brought in
        technology partners Cinnober and Datapipe who provided the hardware that
        runs the Oasis LMF at London data center, LD5.
    --  The insurance industry today faces increased complexity, more regulation
        and heightened consumer expectations. This is putting strain on IT
        systems, which must adapt in an efficient and cost-effective way. By
        moving IT infrastructure inside Equinix's global data centers, insurers
        gain access to leading colocation facilities, ensuring the highest
        levels of data center security and operational reliability.
    --  Advanced analytics and modeling can lift an insurer's performance, as
        competitive advantage can come from the more accurate pricing and loss
        reserving that predictive modeling can bring. Additionally, new data
        sources being driven by the Internet of Things (IOT) such as telematics
        in the motor industry, wearables in health and smart homes/offices in
        property are huge new areas of data input which Equinix simplifies.
    --  A combination of Equinix's global data center services and Performance
        Hub(TM) solution, alongside Equinix Cloud Exchange(TM) provide the
        secure, compliant and effective means of using an optimum mix of compute
        resource to meet the challenges that analytics pose to the insurance
        industry.
    --  Equinix accelerates business performance by connecting over 8,000
        companies to their customers, employees and partners inside the world's
        most interconnected data centers.

Quotes



    --  Trevor Maynard, head of Exposure Management and Reinsurance,
        Lloyd's:"The Oasis framework is groundbreaking in itself but really it's
        the nature of the collaboration that sets a new precedent. Equinix,
        Lloyd's and others have accelerated the creation of a market place for
        catastrophe models giving choice and the potential for deeper analysis
        to insurers."

    --  Ken Curtis, LMA director, Finance & Risk:"The LMA fully supports these
        initiatives which will help to lead the way in catastrophe modeling for
        the market and should ultimately lead to cost savings for members."

    --  Dickie Whitaker, CEO, Oasis:"Leaders in the catastrophe modeling field
        are realizing the value of the new, extensible, scalable Oasis Platform
        and deploying high quality models. This opportunity realizes a new range
        of cost effective transparent models coming to market."

    --  James Maudslay, global head of Insurance, Equinix:"Equinix's ability to
        interconnect businesses and partners has led to the launch of something
        that has the power to change how an entire industry works. As our
        business ecosystems continue to grow and more collaborations like this
        are formed across industry sectors, we will see more and more of this
        type of disruptive innovation - it's a very exciting time for Equinix
        and our customers."

Additional Resources


    --  The Future of Insurance [whitepaper]
    --  Insurance and the Use of Cloud Technology [industry report]

About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) connects the world's leading businesses to their customers, employees and partners inside the most interconnected data centers. In 40 markets across five continents, Equinix is where companies come together to realize new opportunities and accelerate their business, IT and cloud strategies. www.equinix.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX centres and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix's recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

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SOURCE Equinix