Cloud Solution Provider Masergy Joins As AWS Direct Connect Partner

Cloud and managed services provider Masergy has added a big name to its cloud arsenal.

The company last week joined Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Partner Network as a Direct Connect Solution Provider. Through the integration, Masergy will be able to establish network circuits that physically interconnect an AWS Direct Connect location and a client's data center or colocation environment. In other words, Masergy is now providing private access to Amazon's cloud, said John Dumbleton, senior vice president of business development at Masergy.

"This is another extension of our cloud marketplace," said Dumbleton. "We saw customers two or three years ago looking at Amazon as a test environment and today they're looking to put their data and application environments in places like AWS, and that's what we're enabling them to do now."

[Related: Microsoft Cuts Azure Storage Pricing As Amazon Obsession Heats Up ]

Under the partnership, Masergy will be able to provide direct, private access with Amazon's East and West data centers. The partnership also gives Masergy clients access to the AWS GovCloud for government customers.

Masergy already has existing partnerships with cloud providers such as IBM SoftLayer, RapidScale and Cirracore, but the addition of Amazon puts the solution provider in an exclusive club. There are currently less than 40 Direct Connect partners within Amazon's Partner Network.

Previously, the Dallas-based company has done work with Amazon cloud, but it wanted to join the cloud giant's partner program, Dumbleton said, thanks to strong demand for Amazon's cloud services from its customer base.

"When Amazon came out with this Direct Connect offering," he said, "we engaged them and said we wanted to join. Amazon was very high up on our customers' list [of cloud providers], and we heard them loud and clear."

Masergy's clients that are interested in moving their infrastructure to the Amazon cloud include professional services, global manufacturing and technology communications sectors, Dumbleton said.

Masergy plans to expand its Amazon offerings beyond just cloud networking and infrastructure services.

"Our perspective is that we want to lay not only the foundation but also go further with our customers and automate the capabilities for them," Dumbleton said. "In the coming months, we'll be adding incremental capabilities."

PUBLISHED FEB. 10, 2013