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Console's cloud interconnect lets users link multiple providers

Console unveils a cloud interconnect service that offers a more secure and stable connection between multiple cloud providers.

Interconnect vendor Console Connect Inc. has introduced an online cloud interconnection service that lets companies access software to create direct connections between cloud providers.

Console, based in Santa Clara, Calif., launched the CloudNexus service this week. The product is the latest addition to the company's interconnection platform that spins up virtual one-to-one links between companies' data centers and those of cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. Console bypasses the public internet to establish links that are more secure and reliable, according to the vendor.

Console customers would use CloudNexus to connect, for example, Microsoft Azure and AWS. If AWS was the primary infrastructure-as-a-service provider, then Azure could be used for disaster recovery. Such a connection isn't possible today through CloudNexus. The service will launch in June, with support only for AWS. Azure will be added soon after, according to the company. No timetable was set for adding Google and IBM.

"Fully automating each cloud requires custom integration to provide the desired user experience," a company spokesman said.

Companies using the CloudNexus cloud interconnection platform can avoid having to move workloads to their data centers first before sending them to the second cloud provider. The direct connection provides higher performance and reliability, according to Console.

CloudNexus connects more than public clouds

CloudNexus is not limited to public clouds. The cloud interconnection service can also connect to a company's private cloud running in a data center or colocation facility to a public cloud.

Under the covers, Console's software-defined interconnection platform spins up a virtual router for each customer looking to connect to a third party. Configurations for the connections are auto-generated and injected into the router, according to Console.

Console provides an online dashboard that companies use to allocate a set amount of capacity among connections. Customers can add or reduce capacity anytime.

Console provides global connections through 170 points of presence spread over 20 countries. The company will sell the service through monthly subscriptions.

Worldwide spending for public cloud services is expected to top $122 billion this year, according to IDC, as enterprises and organizations continue to migrate more of their workloads to external providers.

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