Why connectivity to
the cloud matters?

Cloud use has never been higher, as enterprises turn to the cloud for increased agility and scalability. Indeed, analyst firm Gartner predicts that the public cloud revenue globally will surpass US$220 billion next year, and tip into $300 billion by 2021. The trend is clear: cloud use is still increasing and will continue to grow at astounding rates.

The cloud isn’t suited for all types of deployments, of course. Despite its incredible versatility, many are coming to realise that the cloud cannot possibly meet all IT requirements. As more and more enterprises move to the cloud with their own unique requirements, they are finding scenarios that either requires on-premises systems or a private cloud deployment. Inevitably, the solution often revolves around establishing connectivity between cloud-based and on-premises deployments.

Within the cloud, some enterprises are grappling with lags and unacceptable experience with certain applications. Latency-sensitive workloads such as virtual desktops are particularly affected by poor network performance, while variances network performance is also deterring the deployment of mission-critical enterprise systems in the cloud.

The need to connect to cloud-based apps is widely acknowledged as what is driving software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN), with IDC predicting that the worldwide SD-WAN infrastructure and services revenues will reach $8.05 billion in 2021.

Yet deploying SD-WAN hardware may not work for enterprise, and the development and rising popularity of cloud direct connect was the solution that the industry came up with. Created through a combination of preferential routing rules and private fibre optic links with fewer router hops, a cloud direct connect solution essentially delivers a dedicated pathway between a customer’s premises to the cloud infrastructure and cloud services that they use.

According to a Gartner’s report, 5% of enterprise public cloud connections already rely on cloud direct connect, and the number is expected to increase to 30% over the next few years.

The most tangible impact of cloud direct connect would probably be the ability to run cloud workloads that would otherwise not have been possible. However, cloud direct connect also offers other capabilities that will benefit enterprises using the cloud.

• Performance

Network engineers are aware that the internet is really made up of many thousands of interconnected networks from around the world. While this offers pervasive and seamless network connectivity that extends to the other side of the globe, the downside is often large variances in network performance that lies outside the control of a single party. Cloud direct connect takes away this unpredictability and replaces it with not just lower latencies, but guaranteed and consistent performance. This means that instead of intermittent lag-induced errors when the internet is slow, access to applications is smooth and seamless.

• Reliability

Most networks on the internet are connected on a “best efforts” basis between telecommunications providers and commercial entities. While network outages are often rectified quickly, and traffic can be redirected through alternative routes, there are usually no contractual obligation to do so. Rather than rely on chance, cloud direct connect gives enterprises a service-level agreement (SLA) for the peace of mind to run their mission critical workloads in the cloud. Importantly, this gives enterprise IT teams the concrete parameters – and confidence – they need to establish robust business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

• Security

Secure encryption is the norm on the internet today and is generally secured by robust public key encryption such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). But SSL encryption can reveal information such as the URL of the target resource, and implementation errors have been known to happen. Cloud direct connect increases both privacy and security by encapsulating all cloud-centric communications through the security of a private network ecosystem. As a bonus, enterprises can create additional virtual networks to segregate traffic between departments to further ratchet up their security posture.

• Agility

Cloud direct connect are built on the latest software-defined networking (SDN) with support for rapid deployment and the ability for enterprises to easily tweak their bandwidth requirements. Compared to traditional options such as leased lines or Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) connectivity, this agility helps enterprises to better leverage the flexibility of the cloud for their digital transformation initiatives. With the ability to quick tweak network configurations, they can keep up easily with faster development methodologies or shot development cycles, allowing for faster innovation to pull ahead of their competitors.

StarHub’s Cloud Connect is a one-stop solution that gives businesses a direct pathway to the cloud that offers enterprises the performance, reliability, security and flexibility they need to accelerate cloud access and drive digital transformation. Designed as a direct network pathway to global cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure etc. Cloud Connect offers seamless connectivity without the costly and complex endeavour of establishing these connections manually.

Cloud Connect is backed by StarHub’s extensive network of enterprise-grade fibre optic cables, which includes access to top data centre facilities in Singapore for hybrid cloud deployments. Enterprises can track usage and network utilisation from a central console, giving CIOs and network administrators a better understanding of their currently network usage. Importantly, enterprises only pay for what they use, and can monitor their network utilisation in real-time.

Seize opportunities and adapt to new workloads quickly and efficiently with StarHub Cloud Connect at starhub.com/cloud-connect.

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