The recent announcement of Google’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect service represents a major shift in how hyperscale cloud providers help businesses navigate the complex world of multi-cloud.
In addition to offering a high-speed private connection between the public cloud and customers’ local networks, Google’s latest offering also provides a dedicated link to its four major rivals: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Oracle and Alibaba.
This is something new. In fact, it’s the first time a hyperscale cloud computing provider is rethinking not only how these mega-companies can play nice with each other, but also how customers can break free from their vendor lock-in arrangements.
It’s no secret that many organizations see cloud vendor lock-in contracts as a major barrier to cost savings and have adopted a multi-cloud approach in part to reduce their dependence on a single provider.
But with more clouds comes more problems.
According to a recent IDC survey, 64% of companies were using multiple cloud providers, yet nearly 80% reported the need to simplify the cloud management process. In other words, as companies board the rocket ship to the multi-cloud troposphere, most find themselves locked in geostationary orbit where the complexities of interconnectivity remain.
The truth is that while Google’s new service is a welcome step in the right direction, the multi-cloud universe is already populated with third-party interconnection platforms that have been offering these types of services for a while – and are much further ahead in the field. of integration, flexibility and ease of service.
Senior Vice President, Console Connect.
Navigate the multi-cloud network
As the digital landscape evolves, businesses increasingly need the ability to transfer sensitive data across multiple clouds and multiple regions in a secure and seamless manner. Yet setting up direct connections to multiple clouds is not an easy task and is often accompanied by unforeseen costs.
The reason is a lack of clarity. Each of the hyperscale cloud providers has its own interpretation of direct connectivity – whether it’s AWS Direct Connect or Azure ExpressRoute – and each is slightly different in its approach to data transfer between regions. It also doesn’t help that Microsoft, Google and Amazon use their own specific lexicon and definitions regarding their direct connectivity offerings.
This is where third-party interconnect providers change the game. They can transition cumbersome network connectivity seamlessly and with incredible flexibility and speed, making it easier for businesses to connect to and between different cloud providers. In fact, it’s like having your own private network at your fingertips.
As your business embarks on its own multi-cloud journey, here are five key factors to consider that will make your life a lot easier:
1. Agility
Unlike a dedicated physical port-to-port service, a remote interconnection platform provides a fully automated service with seamless network integration across a wide range of global cloud providers. This saves you a lot of heavy work because you don’t have to install, manage or maintain equipment.
Better yet, you can manage your global network connections using one centralized management portal (as opposed to the multiple interfaces required by cloud ports and hubs). It also means that you remove all technical risks and software maintenance, so you can concentrate on your core activities. In short: no paperwork, no multi-year contracts and no waiting time for trucks to drive to a data center.
2. Reach
Another key benefit of third-party interconnect providers is that many of us already have existing on-demand access to the world’s largest cloud providers, eliminating the pain and complexity of network configuration and management.
This gives you high-quality connectivity and private data transfers to anything, anywhere at the same time, plus automated switching and routing across a global network of both major cloud providers and Software as a Service (SaaS) partners – all with a single click.
3. Infrastructure
Every company wants to connect to multiple cloud applications and data centers quickly, securely and with peace of mind. So it is important to choose a third-party interconnection platform that owns the underlying core network infrastructure.
By owning an underlying global MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) network, a third-party provider can ensure assured quality of service that is fully resilient, compliant and stringent to your security requirements.
4. Costs
The ever-changing pricing models for multi-cloud applications are a fundamental pain point for virtually every business today. However, if you choose to work with an external interconnection partner, you automatically have access to more competitive prices.
Think of it as a move to a consumption-based model. You only pay for the bandwidth and cloud network connections you need, so your cloud usage fits within your budget. Furthermore, the contract duration can literally be as little as a day (using the PAYG method) and you can change, upgrade or terminate at any time.
In addition, third-party interconnection partners offer comprehensive Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and 24/7 support covering activation, availability, transit delay, packet loss, jitter and mean time to recovery – all resulting in less internal technical maintenance and greater cost savings.
5. Reliability
As we all know, unpredictable disasters happen from time to time. While multi-cloud is often defended as offering the ‘best-of-breed’, it can often increase the amount of resource overhead and IT infrastructure required to support it from a redundancy perspective.
However, in the event of such outages, using a third-party interconnection partner allows you to migrate large amounts of data between multiple cloud providers, data centers and other network locations without the headaches associated with a single cloud ‘hub and spoke’ approach. .
Even if your IT team has limited technical knowledge, you can automate your data backup and recovery between clouds with reliable and redundant connectivity by simply running your private connection for as long as necessary, reducing latency. Your traffic flows dynamically between all your network endpoints over a private global network infrastructure, which means better security, better performance, and ultimately a better experience for your customers.
Google’s new Cross-Cloud Interconnect service will likely prompt the other major cloud providers to follow suit in the foreseeable future, but the key question is whether companies want to remain in a direct relationship with these partners, or whether they prefer operate in the competitive arena. the entire multi-cloud ecosystem.
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