Verizon extends cloud interconnect service to Latin America, lights new Europe and U.S. sites

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is now offering its Secure Cloud Interconnect (SCI) service in Latin America, while adding new sites in Europe and the United States, a move that illustrates its aggressive cloud buildout strategy.

With this expansion completed, the service provider now offers SCI service in Sao Paulo, Frankfurt and Russelsheim, Germany, New York and Los Angeles.

A key element of this expansion is allowing customers to get access to multiple clouds and data center facilities.

Customers can obtain private connections to six major cloud providers, including Verizon, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Express Route for Microsoft Office 365/Skype for Business/Government Cloud, Salesforce, HP and Google. Additionally, customers can access three data center providers (Equinix, CoreSite and Verizon) at over 30 global locations in the Americas, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

One of the selling points of SCI is privacy. Unlike public cloud services that use the public Internet, SCI leverages Verizon's own Private IP network that can offer any-to-any connectivity of IP over its wireline or 4G LTE wireless networks.

In related news, the service provider expanded the availability of its SCI service to U.S.-based government agencies.

To deliver the service to public sector agencies, Verizon is deploying its edge routers into third-party data centers to enable pre-integration of networking and interfaces, allowing customers to select their cloud partners, location and service information.

Public sector agencies can purchase Secure Cloud Connect via Verizon's Networx Universal and Enterprise contracts it has with the General Services Administration (GSA).

Initially offering connections to FedRAMP-certified cloud platform delivered by Verizon and Microsoft, Verizon said it will offer more cloud providers as network build outs and system integration work is completed.

State, local, education and public safety organizations, which do not typically require a FedRAMP-certified cloud environment, can access the full suite of cloud providers Verizon supports (Amazon Web Services, Google, HP, Microsoft, Salesforce, Verizon) and data center providers (CoreSite, Equinix, Verizon).

For more:
- see the release

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