BT is providing secure connectivity to Microsoft’s Azure cloud in a move which will allow Azure customers to bypass the Internet through a private connection.

The agreement is part of Microsoft’s Azure ExpressRoute initiative which has seen the company sign up with a number of network service providers around the world to allow secure private connections between a customer’s data center and the Azure cloud.

The service is due to go live in the summer through direct network connectivity to Microsoft data centers in London and Dublin, and will be followed by connections in Asia and then elsewhere in the world.

The private connection will be based on BT’s IP Connect VPN service, and according to BT means enterprises will benefit from lower latency, more predictable performance and improved security.

Luis Alvarez, CEO, BT Global Services, said IT departments everywhere face the same challenge; Cloud offers them the benefits of flexibility and lower costs, but security and reliability of access to data and applications remain main barriers to adoption.

“We will help customers build on their hybrid cloud strategies by bringing together BT's expertise and global network with the Azure platform,” Alvarez said.

“They will benefit from a globally consistent, more secure and reliable solution, helping them innovate and compete in the global market.”

BT is the latest network service provider to offer this kind of packaged service with a secure pipe into a commercial cloud – Microsoft doesn’t allow a cloud version of its products on a customer’s own infrastructure so businesses have to use Azure – and deliver a hybrid IT environment which cover corporate networks, data centers and the Azure platform.

Caroline Chappell, senior analyst at Heavy Reading said the big network service providers are all starting to exploit their networks in this way.

“AT&T was the first to offer this kind of private line service to a commercial cloud platform and Orange Business Services also offers this kind of packaged service,” Chappell said.

“It extends the hybrid cloud environment and should help uptake of cloud services.”

Verizon has also launched a very similar service in the US, known as Secure Cloud Interconnect (SCI). It means organizations will be able to use Verizon’s Private IP service to connect to multiple cloud services including the Verizon cloud and Microsoft Azure.

SCI will offer a combination of features to enterprises, including dynamic bandwidth allocation with fully redundant connections, application performance throughput and quality of service, usage-based billing, and simple provisioning and management via a centralized portal.