Simplifying last mile cloud connectivity with Lumen and partner Cross-Cloud Interconnect
Google Cloud expands Cross-Cloud Interconnect to simplify last-mile connectivity with Lumen Technologies, enabling faster private cloud and on-premises connections.
Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Network aims to streamline how organizations securely connect applications across cloud and on-premises environments. Last year, the company introduced partner Cross-Cloud Interconnect for AWS, transforming complex cross-cloud network setups into a managed service that provisions in minutes. This initiative replaces lengthy manual processes with automated, standardized workflows. The service leverages open interconnect API specifications to reduce operational overhead for network teams.
The expansion now includes a last-mile option, initially available in preview with Lumen Technologies. This service targets private clouds, on-premises data centers, neoclouds, and other cloud environments, offering high-bandwidth connectivity. Jim Fowler, EVP and Chief Technology & Product Officer at Lumen, highlighted the goal of making networking as dynamic as cloud services. The collaboration simplifies enterprise connectivity to cloud resources with improved performance and reliability.
Enterprises often struggle with inconsistent connectivity across diverse environments like public clouds, neoclouds, private clouds, and on-premises sites. High-capacity private connectivity is essential for AI pipelines and distributed workloads, but traditional provisioning methods remain slow and fragmented. Manual quoting, cross-connect ordering, and routing configuration can delay deployments by weeks or months, while high availability requires additional coordination and configuration.
Partner Cross-Cloud Interconnect for last mile, starting with Lumen, reduces this friction by enabling dedicated Layer 3 private connectivity to Google Cloud in minutes. The service uses a unified operational model, allowing network teams to manage connections across private clouds, neoclouds, on-premises sites, and multicloud environments with a single runbook. The preview is available in us-east4 (Northern Virginia), with more regions planned.