Alkira Deepens AWS Relationship Including Co-Selling and Service Integration

Alkira Inc., announced today an expanded business relationship with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its listing in AWS Marketplace to provide customers with increased agility, advanced networking and security, and a simplified procurement experience. Instead of managing multiple vendor purchase orders, AWS customers can consolidate their software and services purchases on one AWS bill, which supports faster customer adoption of Alkira Cloud Services Exchange (CSX). The company also announced general availability of integration with AWS Transit Gateway Connect, a feature of AWS Transit Gateway that simplifies branch connectivity through native integration of Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) appliances into AWS. This can deliver seamless AWS capabilities to Alkira customers and provides a dramatically simplified cloud network service offering for on-premises, cloud, and multi-cloud networking environments.

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“The native networking capabilities of public cloud providers are insufficient for some production enterprise workloads. Virtual routers and virtual appliances offered by established vendors often don’t meet the requirements of cloud and DevOps teams, particularly around programmability, integration or licensing.”

Alkira also announced a multi-year international agreement with AWS customer Warner Music Group to deploy Alkira Cloud Services Exchange (CSX).

Amir Khan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Alkira:

Alkira is thrilled with this closer business engagement with AWS to offer hundreds of thousands of AWS customers a more sophisticated, yet simplified network infrastructure, consumed completely as-a-service. Visionaries like Ralph Munsen, CIO of Warner Music Group can now realize the company’s cloud networking vision and consume their complete network infrastructure directly from the only comprehensive Cloud Network infrastructure as-a-Service (CNaaS) in the AWS Marketplace.”

Chris Grusz, Director of Business Development, AWS Marketplace, Service Catalog & AWS Control Tower, AWS:

“Enterprise customers are looking for new ways to complement the AWS Shared Security Model to build, secure, and operate their networks. Alkira’s Cloud Services Exchange in the AWS Marketplace will help customers build a global, elastic, and highly available cloud network, integrating next-generation security to protect their AWS environment, and gaining deep infrastructure and applications insights for operational excellence.”

Ralph Munsen, CIO of Warner Music Group, said:

“Cloud has a lot of promise, but we’re always working to improve our network agility and performance and to ensure a seamless process especially in this fast-moving virtual world we’re doing business in. Alkira addresses our cloud networking infrastructure as-a-service needs and we’re pleased to see the close collaboration with AWS. WMG evaluated multiple multi-cloud networking solutions and selected Alkira because the Alkira CSX greatly simplifies management of our network infrastructure and enables us to focus on the growth of our business.”

Alkira is now part of the AWS ISV Accelerate Program, a co-sell program for AWS partners who provide software solutions that run on or integrate with AWS. The program helps drive new business and accelerate sales cycles by connecting participating ISVs with the AWS sales organization.

Alkira is also participating in the AWS Global Startup Program, a go-to-market program built to support mid-to-late stage startups that have raised institutional funding, achieved product-market fit, and are ready to scale. The AWS Global Startup Program offers unique support to startups by assigning Partner Development Managers (PDMs) with deep AWS knowledge and startup or co-sell business experience. PDMs leverage a robust set of AWS resources and drive visibility across multiple AWS teams to power startups’ growth at the speed they need. The APN Global Startup Program supports startups and the investors that back them, in three key areas: product development, go-to- market, and co-sell.

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In a market guide to cloud networking published earlier this year, Gartner wrote: “It’s relatively simple to implement basic network functionality in cloud provider networks, but is difficult to add feature depth and scalability that many network teams are accustomed to. This creates increasing demand for cloud networking software.”

Gartner estimates that by 2025, 35% of companies that use multiple public cloud providers will use a single network stack, an increase of over 10 times from May 2021.

The Gartner report goes on to say, “The native networking capabilities of public cloud providers are insufficient for some production enterprise workloads. Virtual routers and virtual appliances offered by established vendors often don’t meet the requirements of cloud and DevOps teams, particularly around programmability, integration or licensing.”

*Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.