Alkira expands presence by joining Google Cloud Marketplace

Alkira has expanded its presence by making its Network Infrastructure as a Service platform available on the Google Cloud Marketplace. This move signifies completion of its availability across the marketplaces of major cloud service providers, as Alkira solutions are now accessible on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The new offering is designed to provide advanced networking, security, agility, and a streamlined procurement process.

Alkira aims to enable businesses to connect users, workloads, and applications across cloud and on-premise environments easily. This is achieved without deploying physical infrastructure, agents, or complex configurations. "Having Alkira on the Google Cloud Marketplace is a critical step for us as it expands our reach and provides enterprises with the global scale, agility, and security they need to thrive in today's dynamic environment," said Amir Khan, CEO of Alkira.

The inclusion in the Google Cloud Marketplace not only simplifies the acquisition process for customers but also enables them to potentially offset Google committed use dollars. Customers can deploy Alkira within their GCP environment for more rapid implementation and shorter time-to-value. As enterprises increasingly rely on cloud infrastructure for AI workloads, efficient resource allocation and speed become crucial, a need that Alkira aims to address through this streamlined access.

The availability of Alkira's Cloud Exchange Point (CXP) solution on GCP makes it easier for organisations to locate and adopt advanced networking capabilities within the GCP ecosystem. "Networking is complex, and we simplify the experience for enterprises. By offering our CXP solution directly through GCP's Marketplace, we're making it easy for customers to access our comprehensive networking and integrated network services capabilities," said Khan.

The new setup allows GCP customers to consolidate their software and service purchases on a single GCP bill, facilitating faster customer adoption of the Alkira platform. This also delivers seamless integration of GCP capabilities to Alkira customers, offering simplified cloud network services for on-premises, single cloud, and multi-cloud networking environments.

GCP facilitates a straightforward purchase process for customers, allowing them to buy Alkira services directly from its marketplace if Google is already a preferred vendor. This means there is no need for an internal vendor procurement review, and customers can leverage flexible billing models. While customers have the option to purchase Alkira services through their preferred channel partner, they can also opt for direct purchase from Alkira in the marketplace.

Alkira's platform enables customers to interconnect multiple clouds, benefiting enterprises that are exploring GCP's AI technology stack but currently have data and applications residing with other cloud providers. Alkira claims to be the only end-to-end, virtual network platform delivered as-a-service, allowing enterprises to connect users and applications worldwide while integrating with cloud, data centres, and WAN environments. The platform offers full-stack networking and security, scalable networks, auto-detect capabilities for node and link failure, full mesh routing with automated rerouting capabilities, segmentation and micro-segmentation support, integration with third-party network and security services, and high availability with Active/Active connectivity.

In related news, Australian telecommunications company Astrotel entered into an exclusive partnership with Alkira for the Asia Pacific region earlier this month. This partnership aims to meet the increasing demand for agile, secure, and cost-efficient networking solutions that support cloud applications and AI workloads.