Born in the Cloud companies (BitCs) are dependent on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and other hyperscale cloud service providers to develop their products and to reach out to markets across the world. But delivering services directly from the cloud, while cost-effective, may not be the most effective or efficient way to reach out to distributed customers, partners and employees.
A Censuswide study1 on cloud networks found that 56% of organisations are struggling to ensure seamless availability and always-on access to cloud applications. Nearly 70% also reported experiencing latency and performance issues running SaaS workloads.
Many organisations are also wary of the security risks associated with accessing SaaS solutions via the public Internet. The inability to monitor data in transit to and from cloud applications is one of the top 10 SaaS cloud security issues2.
For BitCs, one way to address these challenges is to adopt private interconnection solutions that will shorten the distance between their cloud, SaaS partners and enterprise customers and enhance security by bypassing the public Internet.
A private interconnection solution is a data exchange for businesses, strategically located to support local interconnections between the BitCs, cloud providers, service users and other ecosystem partners. An example is Singtel Internet Exchange (STiX), a carrier-grade IP transit service that enables direct and secure connectivity for businesses and ecosystem partners.
One of the most compelling reasons for adopting a private interconnection solution is performance. An interconnection solution moves processing closer to the endpoints and enables data to be exchanged at the fastest possible speed by providing direct connectivity to partner networks. A service provider with a strong peering network can thus significantly reduce the number of hops needed for the BitC to access hosts on these partner networks.
For example, SiTX has more than 200 peering partners including Tier-One carriers, major cloud providers and content providers worldwide. Applications and services offered by these partners, including SaaS and other cloud services, are effectively integrated into a “local network”, enabling businesses to access them at speeds equivalent to that of dedicated on-ramps.
Another reason why BitCs are gravitating towards private interconnection solutions is that they usually come with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that cover network availability, transit delay (latency), network packet delivery and on-time service provisioning. This guarantees uptime, enabling BitCs to avoid the unpredictability of the public Internet.
In addition, many interconnection solution providers offer network diversity which strengthens service availability for their customers. STiX, for example, is directly connected to different cable systems, including APCN2, C2C, i2i, SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 4, Southeast Asia Japan Cable (SJC), China-US cable network, Japan-US cable network, Unity and Southern Cross. This not only allows the fastest possible data exchange with partners in other countries; it also ensures availability in the event of disruption in any single path.
Operating on a highly-meshed international Internet backbone with Points of Presence (POPs) hosted in telco-grade facilities, a private interconnection solution also allows BitCs to maintain a greater presence in globally distributed, vendor-neutral data centres at the edge.
BitCs also have access to a wide range of third-party service providers, enterprise customers and business partners that are collocated in the same facility. Using software-defined interconnections in the exchange, they can quickly set up and scale their access to networks, clouds, partners and customers within a few days. The private software-defined network enables flexible control of connections, automated provisioning and network segmentation.
As the pace of digitalisation accelerates, private interconnection solutions look set to play a growing role in driving the transformation of entire ecosystems and industries. By delivering the performance needed for real-time interactions and the flexibility and reliability needed to support growing business interdependencies, such digital exchanges will reshape the connectivity landscape not just for BitCs but for all businesses caught up in digital transformation.
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1 Datacenter News, Confidence in public cloud grows, but challenges persist, January 15 2021.
2 McAfee, Top 10 SaaS cloud security issues.
