Riverbed Technology announced today that their SteelConnect SD-WAN solution would offer instant connectivity with Microsoft’s Azure cloud networks, in an innovative business move for both companies.
The San Francisco-based company also announced they had received a Microsoft Gold Cloud Platform Competency, which makes them part of the select premium companies on Microsoft’s Partner Network.
Software-defined wide area networks, known as SD-WAN, are a critical part of today’s business networking practices. They help connect various subsidiaries to a central corporate network, among other things.
Microsoft Azure is a state-of-the-art cloud computing platform for large enterprises that covers a variety of services for evolving IT applications and technologies.
Riverbed wants to turn cloud-centric networking into a standard
Instead of building a network of physical servers hosted in a given location, many companies are turning to cloud computing and networking to manage their businesses. This technology allows them to cut costs and improve industrial efficiency.
Cloud computing essentially means that companies access their business data and corporate networks through the Internet with the help of platforms such as Azure instead of using individual servers that require maintenance and physical space.
Riverbed’s SteelConnect is a software solution that aims to equip companies with a safer and faster way to access their Azure cloud networks. With this approach, they intend to drive enterprises away from old hardware-based networking methods.
“Riverbed has a long-standing relationship with Microsoft to provide fast and secure access to users’ applications and data, wherever it resides,” says Paul O’Farrell, Senior VP, and General Manager of SteelConnect.
The Californian company’s technology wants to bring automated and secure systems to all Azure users with “single-click provisioning into cloud environments.” This statement serves as a metaphor that shows their focus on speed and productivity.
About Riverbed and SteelConnect
Jerry Kennelly founded an IT company called NBT in 2002 and changed its name to Riverbed Technologies in 2003. The renamed endeavor started focusing on wide area networks (WAN) and software-defined networking a few years later.
SteelConnect is their first SD-WAN solution, advertised as the only one that can “ensure seamless performance for all users by unifying and optimizing application delivery across hybrid WANs, remote LANs, and cloud networks.”
Riverbed’s flexible approach allows companies to transition from hardware-based computing to cloud networking quickly and without affecting productivity. Its partnership with Microsoft Azure also gives their platform a technological advantage that’s hard to ignore.
Source: Riverbed