Comcast Business is upping its profile as a cloud provider by offering direct, dedicated links to IBM Cloud’s global network of data centers, allowing its customers to get a wider array of connections for cloud enablement.
Business customers will be able to access 10 Gbps of private network connectivity to IBM Cloud for public, private or hybrid cloud deployments, as well as bare metal environments, for various business applications.
“By working with IBM Cloud, Comcast Business gives enterprises more choices for connectivity so they can store data, optimize their workloads, and execute mission-critical applications in the cloud, whether it be on-premise, off-premise or a combination of the two,” said Jeff Lewis, vice president of data services at Comcast Business, in a statement.
By using direct cloud connectivity, businesses can achieve enhanced performance, security and availability compared with connecting over the open internet. Comcast’s cloud offering is backed by a service level agreement (SLA).
Comcast Business customers that use Direct Link will have access to IBM Cloud's expanding global footprint, which currently includes more than 50 data centers in 19 countries across six continents.
From a broader industry perspective, Comcast’s pact with IBM reflects the growing interest in hybrid cloud services.
While a recent IDC report revealed that 73% of survey respondents said they were deploying a hybrid cloud, only 13% have adopted all of the necessary skills and processes to execute that strategy. Comcast’s service will enable enterprise customers to preserve their existing IT investments while transitioning to a hybrid cloud environment.
IBM is just one of a number of cloud providers for which Comcast Business is providing high bandwidth connectivity for business customers. In January, the service provider began offering private links to the Microsoft Cloud. As part of that agreement, Comcast Business customers can get access Microsoft’s popular cloud applications, including Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Office 365, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Comcast Business also provides direct links to Amazon Web Services through its status as an AWS Partner, giving customers private network connectivity to over 1 million Ethernet-enabled buildings.
Establishing pacts with large cloud providers such as Amazon, IBM and Microsoft will make Comcast Business, which has been aggressively expanding its fiber network footprint, a viable alternative carrier for larger businesses that desire high-speed connectivity as they transition to a hybrid cloud environment.