2020 Partner Directory - ChannelVision Magazine

68 CHANNEL VISION | 2020 Directory A major shift is taking place in enterprise networking, as com panies are migrating more and more critical business applications to the cloud. This in turn is driving the demand for predictable, secure and reliable global connectivity, as well as self-service automation. PCCW Global’s leading Software- defined Interconnection (SDI) platform, Console Connect, is proving to be a valuable resource for companies un- dergoing cloud migration projects and for partners who are spearheading the charge into the cloud. PCCW Global acquired Console Connect in 2017, and has spent the last year-and-a-half onboarding its data centers and multinational custom- ers onto the platform. We spoke with PCCW Global president, Americas, Ronnie Klingner, who explained how Console Connect – powered by the underlying PCCW Global international IP/MPLS network – is now a fundamental part of PCCW Global’s digital strategy. “Console Connect is now the foun- dation of our digital platform, delivering to our customers a new level of agility, control and self-service, while enabling them to manage all of their network and communications services, on demand, and in one place,” Kling- ner explained. Altogether, PCCW Global now has more than 120 data centers integrat- ed with Console Connect, as well as leading public cloud providers, including Google, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Oracle, IBM, Ali- baba, Tencent and many others. Console Connect also offers a social networking feature for learning, troubleshooting and connect- ing with global partners and suppliers. “As a user on the platform, one can instantly set up private, dedicated, on-demand connections between data centers, cloud providers and SaaS providers around the world,” added Klingner. “It’s very unique and some- thing that no other platform is currently offering. We created a community that you can use to connect to business partners by sending a simple connec- tion request. It’s similar to using a plat- form like LinkedIn or Facebook.” Expanding its Digital Footprint In addition, Console Connect enables access to a PCCW Global SD-WAN offering. “We offer both Viptela and Velo- Cloud services to our customers,” Klingner said. “We’ve also integrated orchestration capabilities into the plat- form. So through Console Connect, our customers can manage their SD- WAN devices and connectivity.” PCCW Global has also launched a premium internet service through Console Connect, which runs over the company’s secure MPLS backbone. “Our premium internet offering com- plements the private connection that customers create through the Console Connect plat- form,” Klingner continued. “Soon, we’ll be launching business internet access on demand, using our Tier 1 IP backbone. That’s something that is not currently offered by any of the other platforms out there. Plus, we’re work- ing on integrating our own unified communication ap- plication into Console Connect, and from which we offer dial-number coverage in 24 countries.” This is something agents who focus on UCaaS should find interesting. Integration into Console Connect also includes some of the network security and cybersecurity threat management and analytics solu- tions that PCCW Global offers, and in corporates virtual network functions such as firewall, SBCs and routers. “Throughout all of this, we’re enhancing our reporting and billing capabilities for customers as well,” said Klingner. Looking forward, the company also plans to add IoT integration into Con- sole Connect, including a new global IoT Connect offering. “IoT is another area of focus as part of our digital platform vision and road- map,” Klingner explained. “We have already deployed an Ericsson device connection platform (DCP). We offer a fully automated connectivity manage- ment platform for IoT devices globally. In 1Q20, we will on-board our IPX network onto the platform. We have a very robust IPX network supporting 5G IoT roaming, where available. Through PCCW Global, enterprises can reach over 800 mobile operators.” The real competitive differentiator for PCCW Global, though, is the fact that the company owns its own fiber and IP backbone – something that few competitors can claim. “Most of our competitors don’t own their underlying infrastructure,” explained Bob Flinton, who heads stra- tegic and channel marketing at PCCW Global Americas. “So when there are SLA and downtime issues, the cus- tomer is at the mercy of what their provider has control over, whereas we control that aspect. We own that network infrastructure, which makes things a lot easier for the customer.” PCCWGlobal GoesAll in on Console Connect SDI Platform Takes digital transformation to the next level PCCW Global president, Americas Ronnie Klingner By Gerald Baldino