Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have introduced a multicloud networking tool for Azure.

Azure Multicloud Interconnect, which was built using Open API specifications for network interoperability released by Amazon last year, was pitched by Azure Networking Services VP and Head of Products Narayan Annamalai as a step toward a more open and interconnected cloud ecosystem.

“We see the opportunity to extend this model beyond a single cloud-to-cloud relationship," Annamalai explained. "The same open API specification can help enable broader interoperability across hyperscale cloud providers, creating a more consistent experience for customers operating in increasingly diverse multicloud environments.”

Annamalai added that the solution also streamlines last-mile connectivity for network service providers and carriers.

Azure Multicloud Interconnect, which connects to Amazon through the AWS Interconnect - multicloud tool, touts 100 Gb/s connectivity out of the box, along with so-called four-nine (99.99 percent) availability and media access control security (MACsec).

Microsoft pitched the interconnection as abstracting away the complexity typically associated with multicloud networking and delivering the flexibility to place data, applications, and infrastructure where the greatest business value can be derived.

“Together, we are reducing the complexity of multicloud networking and giving customers the scale, reliability, and agility they need to power the next generation of AI and data-driven innovation,” Annamalai noted.

The claim comes as recent Forbes research reported 82 percent of IT professionals and cloud engineers expect AI services to drive multicloud networking adoption, with a shortage of specialized accelerator hardware and the need to access diverse AI agents across multiple vendors being the main drivers behind the trend.

AWS users now find more hyperscale harmony in their multicloud estate, with Azure the latest cloud provider to connect through AWS' multicloud tool, following a fully managed connection between Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and the Amazon cloud, and Google Cloud’s AWS tie-up from December.

This story was originally posted on DCD's sister publication's website, SDxCentral