New Google, AT&T Partnership Focuses On Secure, Hybrid Cloud Connectivity

Business customers can now use AT&T Netbond to connect to the Google Cloud Platform, the two companies announced on Tuesday.

Through Google's new Partner Interconnect Platform, partners and end customers can use NetBond, move data across multiple cloud platforms without going across the public internet. Users will also have secure access to Google's G-Suite, its popular portfolio of email and collaboration tools.

Solution providers are using NetBond, AT&T's platform that lets users connect to third-party cloud platforms securely through their AT&T VPNs by bypassing the public internet, to offer secure, guaranteed links to large public clouds. The platform gives customers secure connectivity to more than 20 different public cloud providers, such as Oracle and AWS.

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AT&T partners across all three programs -- AT&T Partner Exchange, AT&T Alliance Channel and ACC Business -- will now be able to offer secure access to the popular Google Cloud Platform, too, said Andy Daudelin, vice president of alliances business development, AT&T Business.

Google's Partner Interconnect not only gives users private connectivity to GCP, but it also lets geographically distant data centers connect to a Google Cloud region or point of presence at speeds up to 10Gbps. Partner Interconnect, combined with Netbond, guarantees private connectivity to another highly popular cloud service, especially as more companies adopt a hybrid cloud strategy, AT&T said.

Businesses are constantly evaluating cloud providers, both the smaller, regional players, as well as hyperscale providers to see if the platform will meet their needs. Daudelin said that the addition of another private connectivity offering layered on top of a popular cloud provider's services will encourage more customers to adopt a hybrid cloud approach.

"With more customers migrating to the cloud, data security and network performance are critical issues. By using private connectivity, customers can take advantage of the inherent security of a private network along with higher traffic throughput and low latency in their network performance," he said.

Via the new partnership, users will be able to reach G Suite through AT&T CollaborateSM, the carrier's hosted voice and collaboration solution. The combination will give users a one-stop shop for voice, video, instant messaging and desktop sharing, AT&T said.

AT&T Collaborate and G Suite complement each other well because many businesses right now are transforming how their employees communicate and collaborate together, Daudelin explained.

"Together, AT&T Collaborate and G Suite address collaboration from content creation through distribution, storage and more," he said.