AT&T and Microsoft have announced they will deliver a security-enhanced cloud solution that will allow enterprise customers to connect to Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud platform using a virtual private network (VPN).
The new cloud hosting solution will use cloud integration technology, AT&T NetBond, to pair virtual private networking with Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud platform. Customers of the solution are expected to benefit from the enterprise-grade security of virtual private networking, with an alleged 50 percent lower latency than the public Internet and access to cloud resources from any site using almost any wired or wireless device.
AT&T NetBond
Working together, Microsoft and AT&T will address security concerns by enabling enterprise customers to quickly and reliably connect applications and services from their own datacenters (private clouds) to the Windows Azure cloud service using the protective confines and high transmission speeds of a highly-secure VPN.
AT&T’s cloud integration technology, AT&T NetBond, bonds networking and computing resources together and automates functions that are often performed manually. It allows the network and compute resources to flex in tandem to support the fluctuating demands on systems that enterprise cloud users often experience throughout the year. AT&T customers are already able to take advantage of the technology with AT&T’s own cloud offers.
The new cloud solution takes advantage of the Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology underpinning AT&T’s virtual private network solution. According to independent research firm Forrester Research Inc., 70 percent of multinational enterprises have already adopted global MPLS services, high-performance networks that make it easy to create secure, virtual links between multiple geographic locations.
