Listening to customer requirements should be a top priority for any business, and it certainly is the case for the team here at Interxion, a Digital Realty Company. And when we discuss IT priorities with our own customers, a common theme among many is easy, fast access to and from the APAC market.
That’s why Interxion is proud to announce that our cloud access service Cloud Connect now offers direct access to Alibaba Cloud, the top infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider in APAC and the third-biggest worldwide as reported by Gartner.
With this addition, it will be even easier for APAC customers to enter Europe using the cloud they are most familiar with. At the same time, EMEA businesses now have the opportunity to reach APAC markets even more effectively. Most importantly, customers will be able to access everything Alibaba Cloud can offer – including the full range of Alibaba’s service portfolio – in just minutes.
The cloud of choice for APAC
In the modern world of multicloud strategy, every cloud serves its purpose. Customers often choose to use a mix of different cloud providers to get the best capabilities and value out of each.
Alibaba Cloud has long represented the best path for global businesses to grow their cloud footprints in APAC, or for APAC-based companies to explore opportunities outside of that region.
It’s fully integrated with Alibaba’s comprehensive suite of cloud computing services for eCommerce, payments, logistics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more. Not only does that simplify billing and management for Alibaba customers, but it also means they enjoy cross-platform analytics and insights when they’re using multiple Alibaba services.
Additionally, Alibaba Cloud is the platform of choice in China, which means it represents the easiest way for non-Chinese businesses to enter that market. It is impossible to tell the story of global economic opportunity without discussing China: it’s home to the world’s largest population of internet users, and its economic exposure to the rest of the world has grown significantly over the past several decades, according to McKinsey. Given the complexities of entering the Chinese market from abroad, working with a China-based IaaS provider can strategically ease this transition.
Alibaba Cloud on Cloud Connect
What makes Alibaba Cloud’s availability on Cloud Connect so important?
- On-demand private connections – Cloud Connect has always offered a secure, high performing, and private interconnections to multiple clouds. Now, Cloud Connect users will be able to connect to Alibaba Cloud in minutes, scaling connectivity quickly without having to add physical connections. That includes the provisioning of private virtual circuits through our SD-WAN capabilities.
- A true European platform – Another important benefit: unlike providers that connect to Alibaba Cloud through data centres in APAC or the Americas, Interxion offers direct connections at all our European data centres. That means stronger connections and better performance for businesses that are working in EMEA or that desire access to this market.
- On-ramps – Additionally, customers – including those who may have mainly used Alibaba Cloud in the past – will also have access to explore other cloud providers available via Cloud Connect, including Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud and IBM Cloud.
That roster of cloud providers speaks to our mission to listen and respond to customer requirements: if there is a capability they need, we want to offer it. The addition of Alibaba Cloud also further expands Interxion’s global infrastructure solution, PlatformDIGITAL™. This trusted foundation is already enabling customers to solve global connectivity needs, tailor deployments at scale, and distribute workflows at centers of data exchange to scale digital business.
The inclusion of Alibaba Cloud only increases the number of global commerce opportunities to scale quickly and efficiently with a single data centre through PlatformDIGITAL™. We look forward to supporting Interxion new and existing customers as they explore all that Alibaba Cloud has to offer on their journey toward global growth.