Johannesburg –
MTN Business has taken another step in moving African enterprises closer to
accessing cloud services. The company announced it would offer Microsoft Azure
Express Route to its clientele.
Customers can use Azure Express Route as a value
added service, to enable a security-enhanced, SLA- backed network connection
to Microsoft Azure. Azure Express Route will also give customers connectivity
access to additional services on Azure.
The service will leverage*MTN’s Global MPLS (Multi-Protocol
Label Switching) network, which connects major cities across Africa and the
rest of the world, to provide customers with a consistent experience when
utilising applications that are delivered from Azure Express Route.
“Through Azure Express Route, our customers can
experience a managed network service with the same reliability, manageability
and security they would have when using a private network. Customers will
benefit from better quality of service, and will be able to access services via
the Cloud, as well as share data sets between the MTN Business Cloud and Azure,for
a hybrid cloud experience,”says Debbie Minnaar, General Manager: Products and
Services, Group Enterprise Business Unit,MTN.
Azure Express Route connections do not go over the
public Internet, and therefore offer greater reliability, faster speeds, lower
latencies, and higher security than typical Internet connections. Enterprises
in SA, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Ghana and Cyprus will benefit from the new
offering immediately, with roll out to the rest of the MTN footprint to follow
in the coming months.
“Microsoft is excited
to welcome MTN into its Azure Express Route ecosystem. MTN has a long-term history
of collaborating with Microsoft, both in hybrid cloud and productivity
solutions,” said Ross Ortega, Principal Programme Manager, Azure Networking.
“MTN’s capabilities to operate enterprise class networks, along with their
sizeable reach and availability on the African continent and in the Middle East,will
significantly help extend Azure services in those regions.”
The Azure Express Route offering comes on the back
of the recent launch of MTN’s pan-African cloud platform,which provides customers
with hybrid cloud solution services from MTN’s data centres. Minnaar says both
of these developments are in line with MTN’s commitment to enabling the growth
of enterprise customers by offering them the best in class ICT services.
About *MTN Global MPLS VPN
MTN’s Global Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Virtual
Private Network (VPN) service is a carrier-grade network for enterprise
customers. The layer-3 service (MPLS, Internet Protocol (IP) and VPN) has the
ability to prioritise customer traffic on an application by application basis
enabling fast, reliable and secure network connectivity.MTN’s Global MPLS
service connects key network point-of-presence in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria,
Ivory Coast, Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Congo Brazzaville,
United Kingdom, Netherlands, Djibouti, Angola, Mozambique, Senegal, Cyprus, Cameroon,
Botswana, Namibia,Benin,Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
About the MTN Group
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a
leading emerging market operator, connecting subscribers in 22 countries in
Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities
Exchange in South Africa under the share code: “MTN.” As of 30June 2015, MTN
recorded 231 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan,
Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea
Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville),
Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and
Zambia. Visit us at, www.mtnbusiness.com and www.mtn.com
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