Verizon introduces new tool for efficient connection to data centers

Verizon introduced Software-Defined Interconnect (SDI) on Monday, a tool to make it easier for organizations to connect to 115 Verizon data centers around the world.

Any organisation with a Verizon private IP network can take advantage of this service. SDI is combined with Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric to provide a direct connection to Verizon’s International Business Exchange (IBX) data centres. Connecting customers to data centers is usually quite complex and requires expensive expansions, long lead times and complicated provisioning. SDI uses an automated API, with which provisioning is pre-programmed via ECX Fabric. In this way, it is no longer necessary to connect via traditional infrastructure, which is less fast, safe and reliable.

Verizon’s own Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network sees data traffic increase every year. The use of cloud services continues to grow as more and more companies work with complex cloud deployments to achieve greater efficiency, flexibility and additional functionality in their data management.

Responding to the growing number of users of cloud services

SDI complements our best-in-class software-defined service suite that can deliver performance on the edge and support real-time interactions for our customers, said Vickie Lonker, vice president of product management and development for Verizon. “Think of the number of devices connected to data centers, the amount of data generated and multiply that when 5G becomes omnipresent. By linking our technology to the proven ECX Fabric, companies can virtually connect to Verizon’s private IP services. This makes it easy to deliver and manage data-intensive network traffic in real time, removing a major barrier to digital transformation”.

Companies around the world are increasingly using cloud services. With the advent of APIs delivered via the cloud, the cloud is quickly becoming an unavoidable factor. Verizon reports that, year on year, the company has seen a large double-digit growth in data traffic. This growth is expected to continue in the coming years. With Software-Defined Interconnect, a major barrier to digital transformation has been removed, says Bill Long, vice president of interconnection services at Equinix, in a statement.