Microsoft Adds Private Azure Links at 37 European Data Centers update from May 2014

London-based data center provider TelecityGroup announced availability of Microsoft ExpressRoute, the service that offers private network links to Microsoft's Azure cloud services, in 37 data center locations across Europe.

ExpressRoute bypasses the public Internet, giving customers better security and network performance when using the public cloud services. Microsoft's biggest public cloud rival Amazon Web Services has a similar offering called AWS Direct Connect.

The direct links to Azure will be available on TelecityGroup's cloud-neutral Cloud-IX platform. The provider's CEO Michael Tobin said, “Offering our customers direct connections to Microsoft Azure, via our Cloud-IX platform, strengthens and improves the already rich ecosystem found in our data centers, and offers businesses a choice of cloud solutions that best suits their specific business needs."

Steven Martin, general manager of Microsoft Azure, said ExpressRoute made it easier for customers to deploy hybrid clouds that use Azure. “We look forward to expanding access to Azure, via Cloud-IX and Azure ExpressRoute, through TelecityGroup’s extensive data center footprint,” he said.

Zadara Connects to Azure and AWS at Equinix facilities

U.S. based colocation giant Equinix also recently announced availability of Azure ExpressRoute in its data centers.

This week, the company highlighted one of the most recent customers to use the service at Equinix data centers. The customer is Zadara Storage, a provider of software defined storage solutions that connect on-premise storage infrastructure with cloud storage.

Zadara’s Virtual Private Storage Arrays are colocated at Equinix facilities where they are connected through high-speed fiber lines directly to Azure. The company's platform connects to AWS as well.