In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud computing, the concept of the “walled garden” where providers lock you into their specific ecosystem is slowly becoming a thing of the past. For years, businesses have struggled with the complexities of managing multi-cloud environments, often forcing them to build complex, expensive, and sometimes fragile workarounds to get different cloud providers to talk to one another.
However, a significant shift has just occurred. Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) have announced a new agreement to support high-speed, cross-cloud network connectivity. This development promises to allow organisations to connect networks between Google GCP and Amazon AWS to create one seamless virtual network.
Breaking Down the Barriers
Historically, moving data between major cloud providers was not only technically challenging but also commercially discouraged through egress fees and latency hurdles. This new “Cross-Cloud Interconnect” initiative aims to change that.
By implementing an open API for interoperability, these tech giants are acknowledging a reality that many of our clients at Vertex have faced for a long time: modern business rarely happens in just one cloud. Whether it is for redundancy, accessing specific best-of-breed tools that exist only on one platform, or managing legacy mergers, multi-cloud is the standard for the future.
What This Means for Your Organisation
The ability to easily connect networks between GCP and AWS offers several distinct advantages:
- Enhanced Resilience: Relying on a single provider can create a single point of failure. This connectivity allows for more robust disaster recovery plans, ensuring that if one environment faces issues, your critical assets can arguably remain accessible via the other.
- Simplified Management: Creating one virtual network reduces the administrative burden of managing disparate network policies. It moves us closer to a “single pane of glass” view of network infrastructure.
- Performance: High-speed, direct connections mean that applications running across clouds can perform with the speed and reliability previously reserved for single-cloud architectures.
The Security Implication
While this interoperability is a massive leap forward for operational efficiency, it introduces new considerations for cybersecurity. Connecting two massive ecosystems requires a rigorous approach to security architecture.
Just because the “pipes” are easier to connect does not mean the data flowing through them is automatically secure. A unified virtual network demands a unified security policy. You must ensure that identity access management (IAM), encryption standards, and threat monitoring are consistent across both AWS and GCP environments. Expanding your network perimeter effectively expands your attack surface if not managed correctly.
Navigating the Complexity
If your organisation is currently using multi-cloud strategies, or if you have been hesitant to start because of the technical hurdles, this announcement removes a significant barrier to entry. However, with new connectivity comes the need for updated risk assessments and security controls.
At Vertex, we believe that true security is a marathon, not a sprint. We focus on quality implementation to ensure that your cloud environments whether singular or interconnected are resilient against cyber threats.
If you are not using multi-cloud yet, do not know where to start, or do not fully understand the security implications of bridging AWS and Google Cloud, we are here to help.
Contact the expert team at Vertex to discuss how you can leverage these new capabilities securely and efficiently.