AT&T Builds Its Cloud with New Mobile, Enhanced Solutions

For firms considering going to the cloud to reduce IT costs and make them more flexible to meet changing demands, AT&T (News - Alert) has made moving from premise-based to cloud environments much easier through enhancing existing and offering new solutions.

AT&T has enhanced its AT&T Synaptic Compute as a Service Solution. These include integration with AT&T's VPN Service to enable virtual private clouds. Other improvements include an expanded number of operating system templates, improvements to firewall policies to meet special security requirements, and new self-service and self-provisioning capabilities.

The enhancements to AT&T Synaptic Compute as a Service allow customers to more easily integrate their cloud computing environment and their AT&T VPN, with simplified purchasing, configuration and management, says the carrier. A new highly flexible model for configuration and pricing of virtual servers allows customers the opportunity for greater cost savings.

AT&T recently said IBM's (News - Alert) Cloud Service Provider Platform is one of the best for cloud computing and noted that IBM technology is being used in its new release of AT&T Synaptic Compute as a Service. IBM uses AT&T's VPN capabilities; both companies have said that integrated solutions combining an IT cloud computing platform and a virtual private network would be a prime differentiator for business class cloud services

AT&T has also enhanced its AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service Solution. These include long-term data retention options to help meet corporate governance or compliance requirements and new data management and compression capabilities

AT&T is readying a new mobile solution that allows users to reliably move data to and from AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service using mobile devices. The app can provide users with mobile access to business information stored in the cloud such as documents or reference material which may be needed while on the go. Users can also use the app to upload photos, videos and other media into a corporate information repository as part of a business process or to collaboratively share with others across the organization. The service will provide business customers scalable storage and the ability to access and share data whenever they need to

AT&T is allowing cloud computing vendors and third-party developers to assemble capabilities based on its networking technologies that can help business customers derive more benefits from AT&T cloud solutions. The carrier has invited third-party developers and vendors to assemble capabilities that can help business customers more easily, flexibly and more efficiently transport data to/from AT&T-based cloud solutions. These third-parties have developed software or appliances that extend the value of AT&T's Synaptic Storage as a Service, which enables features such as caching, encryption, and data de-duplication.

Among the companies participating in AT&T's program are: Cirtas, CommVault, Dolphin, EMC, Gladinet, Metalogix, Nasuni, Riverbed (News - Alert) Technology, Seven10, StorSimple, TwinStrata and other vendors. They are developing applications and services that can add more value to AT&T cloud solutions. AT&T plans to jointly sell and market bundled solutions with third parties in select instances.

In addition, AT&T has a strategic alliance with Acuo Technologies to develop cloud-based medical imaging storage solutions to help healthcare institutions solve their increasing data storage challenges. AT&T's cloud capabilities are among the innovative solutions that AT&T ForHealth, AT&T's healthcare practice, is delivering to the healthcare industry to improve patient care and reduce medical costs

AT&T is participating in a working group with the Cloud Security Alliance to define cloud-based security-as-a-service offers

Ongoing work with IBM, VMware and others to enhance its cloud offers

“With cloud-based solutions powered by AT&T's global network, we can enable companies to become more efficient, more mobile, and more nimble while helping to control their costs,” said John Stankey, president and ceo, AT&T Business Solutions. "It’s a powerful combination of benefits for companies operating in an economy that continues to challenge all businesses, no matter how large or small.”