Many cloud applications, in particular SaaS, are inherently coded to operate over a standard public internet connection which is generally accessed through a standard internet browser. For many organisations this default method of access works perfectly well and therefore we see no strong reasons to change this approach.
However, as organisations begin to migrate more time sensitive applications or business critical services to IaaS and PaaS, the unreliable nature of the internet often results in issues relating to performance and/or quality.
To address this issue a number of connectivity solutions have been developed directly by the cloud service providers, and more recently new multi cloud backbone solutions have been launched by Telco’s and specialist exchange brokers
The points below show three alternative connectivity options. These options basically provide direct connections from the enterprise infrastructure and end user tier to the cloud platforms. In effect this brings services on-net, which improves connectivity and reduces latency (delay) because traffic does not have to cross the internet. These solutions, such as Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and Amazon AWS Direct Connect, improve data replication speed between corporate datacentres and cloud infrastructure.
Telecoms vendors and specialist exchange brokers are also providing a wider variety of designs to access cloud platforms. This includes an MPLS or enterprise data centre multi cloud backbone. In effect, this is suited for organisations who have, or wish to have workloads spread across multiple cloud platforms
Ultimately, choosing the best connectivity model for any given organisation involves understanding the individual needs and structures in use, as well as strategic objectives. Each model offers benefits and drawbacks. Let’s consider these in turn…