Tip of the Day: Express Route

Today’s (Cloud) Tip…Express Route

Microsoft and AT&T are working together to deliver a highly-secure and reliable cloud solution that will allow enterprise customers to connect to Microsoft’s public cloud platform using a private network. 

Who is the target customer?

The solution is best suited for enterprises that are looking to extend the use of existing IT investments while also taking advantage of the flexibility and agility offered by cloud resources without having to worry about security/ throughput/availability of the connection to the public cloud. According to industry analyst firm Forrester, 70% of multinational enterprises have already adopted global MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) services, high-performance networks that make it easy to create secure, virtual links between multiple geographic locations. This joint solution will allow them to quickly and easily add a public cloud datacenter that appears as just another site on their existing AT&T network.

What is driving the demand for this type of service?

Businesses are looking to the Cloud to do more with less. With cloud computing resources, they can be more agile and efficient without having to invest and own IT infrastructure. Enterprises continue to cite concerns about security and reliable performance in their decision to adopt cloud computing. Working together, Microsoft and AT&T will address these concerns by enabling enterprise customers to quickly and reliably shift information and applications between their own data centers (private clouds) and the Windows Azure public cloud service using the protective confines and high transmission speeds of a highly-secure virtual private network rather than the public Internet.