NTT Communications has launched what it claims to be the world’s first software-defined networking (SDN)-based cloud migration service, the On-premises Connection.

It said it is rolling out the service, designed to connect customer’s on-premise systems with NTT Com’s Enterprise Cloud using the internet and SDN technology on July 28 in Japan and later in other markets worldwide.

The service connects on-premises systems and cloud in the same network segment using SDN-compatible gateway equipment installed in the customer’s system.

NTT said this approach substantially reduces the workload normally required to design and configure on-premises networks.

Once in the cloud environment, NTT said customers can continue to use the existing IP addresses of their on-premises systems which further reduces workload.

NTT said the service ensures that encrypted data is transferred between on-premises systems and Enterprise Cloud via the Internet at up to 100 Mbps.

It said SDN technology enables customers to make changes such as adjusting bandwidth to transfer large data in off-peak hours fast, and allows them to use their existing Internet connection lines for cloud migration if required.

The service is offered on a pay-per-use basis with an initial fee of 231,000 yen, including the cost of installing gateway equipment at the customer’s site and a daily charge of 11,718 yen, with a maximum monthly charge of 234,150 yen.

NTT Communications recently opened its NTT Innovation Institute in California, which is designed to carry out research into SDN technologies.

NTT Innovation Institute COO Eiji Kuwana said at the opening that cloud migration was one of the biggest challenges NTT hoped to address by using SDN.

“We understand that moving data between data centers and managing that well, not only within a country but especially when you go outside a country, is a very important thing for us to consider,” Kuwana said.

DatacenterDynamics will have more on NTT’s innovations around the software-defined network in our next edition of FOCUS – Issue 30 – which looks at the software defined data center, out next week. Sign up for your digital edition here.