Equinix has established direct network connection to Amazon Web Services' public-cloud infrastructure at its two Seattle data centers.

Tenants at the facilities can now buy direct private-network connectivity to the Infrastructure-as-a-Service provider to combine public cloud with their own IT infrastructure hosted at Equinix. According to Equinix, the advantages of doing so over connecting to AWS through public internet include lower network costs, higher throughput and more consistent network performance.

Similar AWS connectivity services, called Direct Connect, are available at Equinix' Asbhurn, Virginia, the Silicon Valley, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Data center providers Telx, CoreSite and TelecityGroup also offer the service at select facilities.

Chris Sharp, general manager of cloud and content at Equinix, said the service enabled its customers to establish hybrid-cloud environments. “As we continue to support expansion of the AWS Direct Connect service to new markets, we are removing barriers to adoption and enabling customers to deliver on the promise of cloud computing,” he said.

Jim Crogan, a 451 Group analyst, said enterprises will increasingly look at colocation providers like Equinix to help them facilitate putting more production workloads in the cloud. “As the cloud matures and supports greater numbers of mission-critical production workloads, data center providers like Equinix will be viewed increasingly as the strategic facilitators of enterprise-class production services,” he said.

The cross-connect between a customer's infrastructure and Amazon's within an Equinix data center can be established in a matter of days, according to Equinix. The data center company is promising millisecond latency on these connections.