BT and Microsoft have signed a global agreement to provide customers with more secure connectivity to Microsoft’s public cloud platform through the Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute.
Azure ExpressRoute allows customers to bypass the public internet when connecting to Azure through a private connection based on BT’s IP Connect VPN service.
As a result, the companies said they can provide enterprise customers with a seamless, hybrid IT environment encompassing their corporate networks, data centers and the Azure cloud platform.
BT's IP Connect VPN service, which is available in 198 countries and territories, integrates the Azure infrastructure directly with the wide area networks of customers. Customers will benefit from lower latency, more predictable performance and enhanced security for Azure workloads.
The service is due to go live in summer 2014 in Europe through direct network connectivity to Microsoft Azure data centres in Dublin and Amsterdam. This will be followed by connections in Asia, then by additional locations around the world.