Enterprises continue to push toward the use of cloud services to virtualize IT apps. For example, Microsoft estimates that more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies use the Microsoft cloud, and more than 120,000 new businesses are joining the Azure cloud computing platform every month. Microsoft also reports that around one in four of its enterprise customers are using Office 365.
Comcast Business seems to have that kind of data in mind as it announced on Thursday that it now provides enterprise customers with private links to the Microsoft Cloud, including Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365. The operator reports that its business customers can now receive up to 10 Gbps of private network service to the Microsoft cloud.
“As businesses increasingly rely on cloud services to virtualize more of their IT applications, they require connectivity with measurable performance, reliability, and security,” Rosemary Cochran, principal at Vertical Systems Group, observes. “The addition of Comcast Business to the Microsoft ExpressRoute partner network offers companies the cloud connectivity they need, backed by the reach and flexibility of Comcast’s expansive Ethernet service footprint.”
Not surprisingly, security is a key element, as Comcast Business VP of Data Services Jeff Lewis underlines in a statement.
“A key part of our cloud and data center initiative is giving businesses private, secure access to cloud providers for increased options and flexibility as they build out and customize their hybrid architectures,” Lewis notes. “And as CIOs and IT leaders look to expand their use of Microsoft Azure for more lines of business applications where performance and security are critical, we can give them a new Ethernet network option that turns their WAN into a LAN, connecting their dispersed office locations, data centers, and cloud services.”
Comcast Business reports that its network connects to more than 500 data centers as well as cloud exchanges for access to multiple cloud providers.
