Vodafone today announced that it is working with Google to make it easier for businesses to connect to the cloud.

Alongside the provision of connectivity to Google’s network, Vodafone is creating one of the world’s largest cloud-based software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN). This will provide customers with a virtual overlay on a physical global network so that opening a new route or redirecting traffic to and from the cloud can be made automatically and quickly.

Meeting several technical requirements, Vodafone joins Google’s Verified Peering Provider (VPP) programme, making it a trusted partner for the provision of secure and dedicated, high-capacity connectivity across Europe, Asia, and the USA.

Enterprise-grade managed service

With Vodafone as a Verified Peering Provider, Vodafone-Google customers are assured access to all of Google’s public services, including Google Workspace, Google Cloud, Google APIs, simply and reliably with an enterprise-grade managed service - without the having to manage the complex requirements of direct peering.

Verified Peering Providers such as Vodafone take the complexity out of managing peering connectivity with Google. Vodafone handles all aspects of peering connectivity, including provisioning, network operations, and troubleshooting, allowing Google’s customers to focus on their core business. Both Google and its customers also no longer need to negotiate individual agreements with multiple connectivity providers across different geographical regions.

Vodafone will provide Google customers with highly responsive, quality, lower latency cloud services by embedding the Google gold peering provider solution globally across its network, whilst bringing the access points closer to users. The solution is ready for service across 18 cities, including London, Frankfurt, New York, and Tokyo, with additional places worldwide progressively added as Google and Vodafone provide more access points.

One of the largest SD-WANs

Fanan Henriques, Director of Vodafone Business International and EU Cluster, said: “Vodafone, together with Google, is creating one of the world’s largest and most reliable cloud SD-WAN services for cloud customers. Application developers, content publishers, service providers and multi-national enterprise customers will benefit from a secure, resilient, and consistent cloud experience across a global footprint.”

“The Verified Peering Program provides Google customers with a simple way to find Internet Service Providers that have been verified to offer high-quality Google connectivity,” said Keith McCallion, Vice President, Google Global Network Infrastructure. “We are proud to have Vodafone as a part of this program, and we look forward to working with them to deliver enterprise-grade connectivity to our customers.”

The Google model also opens new business opportunities for Vodafone with enterprises and application owners looking to move services and operations to the cloud. Combining Vodafone’s global tier one network, comprising business-class internet access and Internet Protocol (IP) transit, and Google’s leading global cloud infrastructure, Vodafone will provide dedicated, high quality, and resilient connectivity to large enterprise customers, offering an industry leading digital cloud experience.

In addition, the peering agreement between Vodafone and Google offers application developers and content providers access to a potential customer base of many millions who are directly connected to Vodafone’s networks.

Unlocking Value

Nadia Benabdallah, Head of Network Strategy and Engineering, Vodafone, added: “This is a good example of jointly unlocking value in collaboration between leading telecommunications and cloud infrastructure providers. At Vodafone, we invested heavily in extending the reach and improving the performance of our international network, which has been recognized by the Google Gold Verified Peering Provider programme.”

Google customers can work directly with a Verified Peering Provider to acquire internet connectivity services. Verified Peering Providers must adhere to guidelines such as physically diverse connectivity to Google’s network, which minimizes latency changes to our customers during network outages. The requirements to become a Verified Peering Provider go above and beyond Google’s previously announced network redundancy requirements.