Cloud adoption is surging, with almost three-quarters of organizations (73%) in the process of migrating strategic workloads. The cloud is now a key technology pillar for many organizations and is transforming the way companies store and access data globally.
But migrating to the cloud also introduces a variety of potential security threats and performance issues — many of which happen during transit. Companies must therefore consider how they are connecting to cloud environments, in order to ensure speedy and secure communications and data transfers.
Considering this, cloud direct connect is one of the most important technologies to know about in 2023. Read on to learn how cloud direct connect works, and some of the ways that it’s transforming the way businesses connect to the cloud.
Cloud direct connect: A brief overview
To understand cloud direct connect, it helps to know how cloud storage works. Cloud storage involves removing data from a physical drive (like a hard drive) and transferring it into an online storage space. There are several cloud storage providers on the market today, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Google Cloud, and many more.
Cloud direct connect builds off cloud computing, by creating a secure connection between a private network and a public cloud. In the not so distant past, all connections running to the cloud went from a public network into a public cloud. But today, many different types of clouds have become available, including public, private, and hybrid. And direct connect allows you to interact with these clouds over a private, dedicated network.
Three benefits of cloud direct connect
Cloud direct connect provides some much-needed improvements for the technology industry. It also has some exciting applications for future developments in the cloud storage field and global communication.
Here are a few of the biggest benefits of cloud direct connect.
1. Greater reliability
Before cloud direct connect was introduced, the only way to access the cloud was through a standard internet connection. However, the public internet is prone to numerous failures, making it unsuitable for businesses that need fast and stable connections.
But with cloud direct connect, you can leverage a private network instead of routing data over the public internet. And by controlling your underlying network infrastructure, it’s possible to establish more predictable and reliable connectivity. Only your company will have access to this infrastructure, which decreases the likelihood of something going wrong.
2. Faster connectivity
Bypassing the public internet and going straight to the cloud from your own network also eliminates a big step — and this means faster service.
By directly connecting to the cloud, you’re connecting the dots in a straight line and increasing your speed by the same token. This is important when considering customers today expect lightning-fast digital services when visiting websites, playing mobile games, using mobile applications, and transferring files.
3. Enhanced security
Using a private network to transport data to the cloud significantly increases data security. This is because data transport takes place over a private, designated network connection instead of the public internet.
Consider the fact that hackers live on and profit from the internet, but it’s much harder to break into a personal network. And if a security breach does occur over a private network, it’s easier to find the root cause and close the vulnerability — leading to a faster resolution.
Looking to the future
The plausible “next step” in the direct connect process is linking multiple clouds — like AWS, Tencent Cloud, and Azure. By connecting multiple clouds, information could travel securely and in real-time across the entire globe. Not only would this be a vast improvement for the computing and data storage industry, but it would also enhance international business, and the future of trade and cryptocurrencies.
For now, cloud direct connect is still a relatively new technology [SW1] [GB2] that needs to be put to work in the global marketplace. So if you are a business owner or work in IT, cloud direct connect should definitely be on your radar. Not only will it enable faster, safer, more reliable connectivity, but it will also keep your business on the cutting edge of technology[SW3] .
How Zenlayer connects businesses to global clouds
Zenlayer offers Cloud Networking, a next-generation network as a service (NaaS) solution that instantly connects data centers and cloud services. Businesses can use Cloud Networking to connect directly to public and private clouds across six continents, including high-growth emerging markets.
To learn more about Zenlayer Cloud Networking, visit our product page; contact our experts if you have any questions.
