AWS launches Direct Connect to lower network costs

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched its Direct Connect service in the UK, allowing customers to bypass the public internet by creating a dedicated network connection between their office, datacentre, or colocation facility to an AWS region.

Connecting directly to an AWS region will help customers reduce their network costs, improve bandwidth throughput and provide a more consistent network experience than is possible across the internet, according to AWS.

On the AWS web site, the firm suggests how the new service will reduce customers' network costs.

"First, by transferring data to and from AWS directly, you can reduce your bandwidth commitment to your internet service provider," it notes.

"Second, all data transferred over your dedicated connection is charged at the reduced AWS Direct Connect data transfer rate rather than internet data transfer rates."

Freeform Dynamics analyst Dale Vile, said the new service is likely to be welcomed by customers.

"Relying on the public internet for core application connectivity introduces a degree of variability and uncertainty around bandwidth, speed and latency that is unacceptable to many large organisations, which are increasingly putting the emphasis on end-to-end quality of service management," he told V3.

"Utilising dedicated links to cloud providers overcomes this and hooking up via incumbent communications service providers can also have benefits in terms of costs, monitoring, troubleshooting and support."

Dale said Direct Connect will also help businesses feel more secure in the cloud.

"While security, per se, should not be an issue when sending traffic over the public internet, provided it is appropriately encrypted, directly connecting to the cloud provider does take away a commonly perceived risk, which may make it easier to get sign off from non-technical stakeholders when making cloud-related decisions," he said.

The availability of the service in the UK follows the launch of AWS Direct Connect in the US east region in August last year and expansion to Silicon Valley shortly after in September.

The UK datacentre for the direct service is based at Telecity Sovereign House, London.

AWS has long hosted its datacentre in Ireland to serve the UK and Europe west region, a fact that became apparent last August when a lightning strike in Dublin took down some of the firm's servers and caused days of disruption for customers.

Customers who want sign up for AWS Direct Connect can do so by filling out a form on the firm's web site.