Windstream Enterprise has announced it has launched SD-WAN Cloud Connect, a flexible, high-performance way for enterprises to connect all their network locations to their cloud-based applications.
Offered in collaboration with VeloCloud, now part of VMware, SD-WAN Cloud Connect is the answer to the enterprise need for agility, affordability, visibility and control with highly secure, private, dedicated access to leading third-party cloud service providers.
“The introduction of SD-WAN Cloud Connect represents a significant milestone in our SD-WAN journey,” said Mike Frane, vice president of product management, Windstream. “We launched the current product just over a year ago and with the addition of SD-WAN Cloud Connect, we are bringing a solution to both existing and new customers that will make it easier for them to participate in today’s cloud-based digital transformation.”
The power of SD-WAN Cloud Connect lies in its seamless integration of SD-WAN Concierge and Cloud Connect. With flexible access options — public broadband to private circuit — SD-WAN Cloud Connect enables enterprises to easily connect to public or proprietary apps running at the leading cloud service providers (CSPs). SD-WAN Cloud Connect is a “virtual edge” device at the CSP, and communicates securely and directly to the enterprise’s premise-based SD-WAN edge sites, putting the cloud applications closer to end-users for optimal performance.
The customer experience weighed heavily into SD-WAN Cloud Connect design and function, the company says. The SD-WAN Cloud Connect location appears as part of the customer’s network, and the SD-WAN Management Tool in WE Connect provides the same levels of visibility and control as any other SD-WAN location. Customers also have the option to self-install the SD-WAN Cloud Connect “virtual edge” device on a server at their CSP or engage the WE Professional Services team to spin-up their edge device. Once the install is complete, WE activates the “virtual edge” device and it becomes part of the customer’s network, with WE providing management of that location as part of a fully-managed solution.
“We are excited to collaborate with Windstream Enterprise to bring this innovative ‘virtual edge’ solution to its customers,” said Michael Wood, vice president of marketing, VeloCloud Business Unit, VMware. “Windstream has been at the forefront of the industry with their SD-WAN solution and this launch marks another accomplishment in a long line of successes we’ve shared while working together.”
SD-WAN Cloud Connect will be available first to customers using Amazon Web Services in July, followed rapidly by Microsoft Azure customers in August.
