Equinix and AT&T Form Alliance for Enterprise Cloud Services

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Cable trays filled with fiber within an Equinix data center. (Photo: Equinix)

Equinix (EQIX) and AT&T announced a new alliance that will deploy AT&T networking technology across select Equinix data centers globally. AT&T NetBond will be installed in those data centers, enabling customers to connect to their cloud services using their private AT&T VPN networks, which deliver highly secure connections with high reliability and performance capabilities, rather than relying on access via the public Internet. The alliance will create the opportunity for cloud providers to allow access to their services via AT&T NetBond from Equinix data centers around the world.

“The AT&T and Equinix alliance will boost enterprise customers’ confidence in the security, reliability and performance of the cloud,” said Mike Sapien, Principal Analyst – Enterprise at Ovum. “The companies are addressing many of customers’ concerns about moving applications to the cloud and will ultimately speed up enterprise cloud adoption. This is a great example of AT&T’s open network initiatives aligning with Equinix’s cloud ecosystem.”

Available in the first half of 2014, the AT&T NetBond service will combine the security of AT&T virtual private networking with cloud resources.

"Business customers want rock solid network-based security protecting their traffic and applications when they use cloud services,” said Jon Summers, senior vice president growth platforms, AT&T Business Solutions. “Virtual private networking gives them better protection against Internet threats while also delivering the reliability, agility and performance they need when accessing the cloud.”

“Equinix sits at the intersection of cloud service providers, network service providers and enterprise customers that want to use those services," said Pete Hayes, chief sales officer for Equinix. "The alliance lets AT&T quickly expand its portfolio of AT&T NetBond-enabled cloud services by using our position as a cloud hub. Together, we’re making the network as flexible as the cloud and giving enterprises confidence they can move their most demanding applications to the cloud and still meet their security, scalability and performance requirements.”