The demand for cloud services such as hosted PBX (News - Alert) connections continues to expand throughout the global marketplace, and those innovating in this space are reaping the benefits. Two companies recently announced expansions, one in the U.K. and another in the U.S., bringing their enhanced services to European and American customers.
8x8 (News - Alert) and NTT were both featured in a Network World report on recent cloud developments. The former recently signed an agreement with Interxion to deliver interconnection services in London. The latter has entered a definitive agreement to purchase Virtela, a Denver-based cloud service provider.
A hosted PBX provider, 8x8 will partner with Interxion (News - Alert) to deliver localization and interconnection services at the carrier-neutral colocation data center services provider’s London location. With 34 data centers located in 13 cities across 11 countries, Interxion services such clients as Thomas Reuters (News - Alert) and NASDAQ. This 8x8 expansion will ensure customers gain access to the shortest and best media path according to their geographic location.
In addition to this U.K. launch, 8x8 is also planning to implement a new Geo Routing technology which will dynamically route calls to the nearest data center using location information. The company believes this move will enhance its geographic diversity through enhanced availability and redundancy, while also providing local presence for multinational customers.
Stateside, NTT (News - Alert) will purchase Virtela for roughly $525 million. While based in Colorado, NTT maintains global operations and delivery centers in India and the Philippines, in addition to its U.S. presence. The company offers a variety of cloud-based services for the enterprise, serving more than 500 customers globally.
NTT’s CEO, Akira Arima noted the company has a reputation for strong technology, global reach and networking expertise. By combining the company’s virtualized network services with NTT’s brand and strength, company leaders anticipate the creation of the industry’s most advanced services portfolio. Services will be positioned as providing the enterprise with the opportunity to eliminate the constraints that tend to accompany traditional network architectures and services.
These announcements from both NTT and 8x8 demonstrate the opportunity for expansion in the global marketplace. At the same time, both are leveraging leadership positions to identify new opportunities and filling gaps in robust cloud-based offerings. As companies continue to identify the benefits and opportunities associated with hosted PBX and other cloud-based solutions, demand will continue to grow.
Edited by Alisen Downey