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Telstra launches Cloud Gateway

Adds AWS to range of Cloud Services platforms

Telstra has announced a major Cloud play - Cloud Gateway, a solution it says is for businesses who need to simply and securely connect to multiple Cloud environments.

Telstra is also extending its Cloud Services range with the addition of the world-leading Cloud platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In a statement, Telstra said Cloud Gateway provides private and secure connectivity directly into multiple public Cloud platforms. The one-to-many “gateway” model connects an IP network service to the cloud with data carriage, cross connect in the hosting data centre, configuration and support.

This means organisations can simply and securely access their chosen Cloud platform from around the world, with increased application performance via Telstra’s IP network.

Initially, Cloud Gateway will offer global customers connectivity to AWS and IBM SoftLayer, while Australian customers can also connect to Microsoft Azure, Office365 and VMware vCloud Air – with more infrastructure and SaaS platforms to join over time.

Telstra executive director, global products and solutions, Philip Jones, said Cloud Gateway, combined with Telstra’s wide range of best of breed Cloud environments, aimed to help customers take full advantage of the ways Cloud-based workloads can improve agility, reduce costs and support innovation when they reside in fit-for-purpose Cloud architectures.

“Most organisations don’t realise the full value of Cloud out of a single service. Instead, our customers are investing in sophisticated hybrid Cloud environments, which come with their own range of fragmented networking challenges," he said.

"These include managing multiple vendors, portals and contracts, while trying to maintain a high level of security, performance and operational efficiency. We believe that just because these solutions are sophisticated, doesn’t mean that they should also be complex. Cloud Gateway is Telstra’s simple way to connect multiple Clouds, and create hybrid environments.

“Telstra is very well positioned to help customers with hybrid and multi-Cloud strategies, as we bring the Cloud and the network together. The network is the fundamental piece of the puzzle that helps provide a secure and reliable application experience.

Having a single touchpoint also helps reduce IT complexity, enabling our customers to maximise the benefits of investing in Cloud.”

AWS Australia and New Zealand head of channels and alliances, Stefan Jansen, said; “We are very excited to expand our relationship with Telstra in delivering an integrated AWS platform experience to customers of all sizes.

"By combining the experience of Telstra and AWS, customers will benefit from our focus on providing a wide range of AWS Cloud-based features and services to support unprecedented agility and innovation in Australia and internationally."

Cloud Gateway will be available from June.