February 12, 2019

Verizon, Alibaba Cloud partner for ‘Secure Cloud Interconnect’

The partnership seeks to provide Verizon’s customers with access to cloud service providers in the APAC region through their MPLS connection.

Internet giant Verizon and cloud behemoth Alibaba have entered into a strategic alliance to provide the former’s customers access to cloud networks in the APAC region. As per the terms of the deal, the addition of Alibaba to Verizon’s network called Secure Cloud Interconnect through a secure MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) will allow customers to gain access to more than 70 locations.

According to Verizon, MPLS networks provide enterprises with a routing technique that directs information from one node to another through the shortest route. They say that these networks boost the quality of information that passes through them and allows users to quickly connect to multiple cloud providers in the region.

With Alibaba expanding its reach with data centers, alliances and acquisitions, Verizon say that a partnership with the tech giant would boost their customer’s cloud capabilities. They believe that this alliance will bring freedom and flexibility to quickly establish and manage workloads through a consumption-based connectivity service.

Verizon say that their software-defined platform connects with majority service providers globally and this deal with Alibaba will help them gain more customers looking to penetrate APAC. They say that this alliance will also allow Alibaba to benefit from a different segment of customers and explore market opportunities from untapped markets.

Industry watchers claim that the alliance will not only help Verizon’s customers to boost cloud connectivity but also help them build applications through Alibaba’s services. It will be interesting to see how the cloud race intensifies with this alliance, following Microsoft’s partnership with Albertsons.