XO Communications Interconnects with Microsoft Azure through Equinix Cloud Exchange

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

XO Communications (XO), a leading national provider of advanced IP communications, is progressing its strategy to enable enterprises with dedicated connectivity to multiple cloud service providers by introducing direct links to Microsoft Azure through the Equinix Cloud Exchange. Azure is a powerful cloud platform designed to deliver innovative, economical and scalable capabilities to the enterprise. XO now offers its customers dedicated connections to Azure at bandwidths of 200 Mbps, 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps in Equinix International Business Exchange^TM (IBX^®) data centers in the Washington, D.C., area and Silicon Valley. Enterprises choosing 1 Gbps connectivity to the Azure platform also have the option of leveraging the XO Bandwidth on Demand service with usage-based billing and bandwidth commit rates ranging from 100-500 Mbps.

Enterprises are adopting cloud strategies to reduce IT spending on hardware, software and services. However, security and performance concerns have deterred many businesses from accessing cloud environments because of the risks inherent with using the public Internet. Companies can access Azure through the Equinix IBX and the XO Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP-VPN) that features reliable direct connections that are more secure than using the public Internet. This approach enables businesses to use their cloud resources as if they were simply another node on their private network, while mitigating much of the risk associated with accessing cloud services through the public Internet. Enterprises are therefore empowered to accelerate their cloud deployment strategies.

"Enterprises need to increase the velocity of their business growth while constraining total IT spending," said Jake Heinz, senior vice president, marketing and product at XO Communications. "XO enables the evolution of the hybrid IT function whereby the IT organization becomes a trusted cloud services broker for the entire organization. With dedicated network connections to Azure, IT managers are now able to cost-effectively drive productivity by deploying true hybrid cloud architectures."

"Microsoft is committed to helping enterprises realize the benefits of hybrid cloud by enabling them to connect their datacenter to the Azure public cloud with ExpressRoute," said Ross Ortega, principal product manager, networking, Microsoft Azure. "Through our collaboration with XO and Equinix, we are bringing the power of the cloud to even more customers."

About XO Communications

XO Communications provides the technology that helps business and wholesale customers compete in a hyper-connected economy. In the U.S., XO owns and operates one of the largest IP and Ethernet networks that customers rely on for private data networking, cloud connectivity, unified communications and voice, Internet access, and managed services. To learn more about XO Communications, visit www.xo.com or blog.xo.com.