2021 was an exciting, busy and great growth year for VANIX! We are continuing to work towards improvements for 2022 that will increase the value of the exchange for our participants. One of the key performance indicators (KPIs) we have been focusing on is traffic volume, and we are happy to report that traffic is up 67% over last year! Part of that success is due to our promotion of the exchange via direct outreach efforts and attending events such as BC Broadband Conference (at which Board Member Tom Samplonius also presented) and NANOG in Montreal.
Over the past year we have also maintained excellent relationships with our sponsors and strategic partners. As an example, we would like to thank ISOC for the recent significant sponsorship, as well as Chris Tacit for his support with the application.
As a whole, VANIX continues to explore all opportunities for the exchange, and it’s certainly an exciting time to be doing so! Canada’s first fibre cable to Asia (called TOPAZ) has landed, Cologix is launching their 4th data centre facility at 175 West Cordova, and Polaris is building out their Spencer Building carrier hotel. All these changes, growth and opportunities for the city of Vancouver are also opportunities for our exchange.
With regards to our participants, this past year we have also improved our connection practices making it ultimately a lot easier to connect to VANIX. This is thanks to our streamlining of administrative processes, and importantly also because our Operations team have really helped to reduce barriers and troubleshoot cross connect challenges.
Financially, the exchange is on a good footing and this has allowed us to initiate significant upgrades to the network. We have also managed to lower our overall operating costs and have been able to keep our prices in line with market rates.
As we look to the future, we are excited to welcome even more participants to the exchange, grow our traffic levels, maintain a resilient and expanding network, keep costs down, and continue promoting our part of the world as an increasingly important destination within the Internet ecosystem.
However, to reach our full potential and offer the best value to our participants, we could use your help! If you know of anyone who may be interested in sponsoring the exchange, peering on the exchange, or perhaps being involved on our board or with one of our committees – let us know!
– Scott Jamieson, VANIX Board Chair