BT said the multi-cloud network will help its customers better use digital automation and AI
BT announced the launch of Global Fabric, an international network based on a network-as-a service (NaaS) model and designed to connect multi-cloud environments in a “flexible, scalable and resilient” way. The network, said the company, offers the “convenience of pay-as-you-use” and will help its customers better use digital automation and AI tools and applications.
When fully rolled out, Global Fabric will use 79% less electricity than its current global networks, allowing those using the network to reduce their Scope 3 carbon emissions, claimed BT. The network will also be pre-integrated with more than 630 digital service providers and over 700 data centers, and an “e-commerce-like interface’ will let customers “shop for connectivity.”
“This covers the world’s largest public cloud providers, private clouds, network, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and secure access service edge (SASE) solutions — all available at the click of a button,” stated the company.
Jan Hein Bakkers, senior research director at IDC, commented that Global Fabric addresses the growing need for organizations to “transform their networks.” He cited IDC research, which shows that its becoming critical for these entities to adopt a “secure and sustainable platform that provides the flexibility, manageability, scalability, and cost effectiveness” to support the “right” end-user experiences. Additional DC research, conducted in 2021, also concluded that 75% of enterprises are moving to edge, hybrid and multi-cloud networks.
CEO of BT Business Bas Burger put the pitch in simple terms: “Global Fabric means multi-cloud works better on BT.” More specifically, he said the the network will help organizations tackle the AI, IoT and automation “revolution” and achieve “better total costs, boost app performance and user experience, all while complying with regulations and mitigating cyberthreats.”