With inventions that link billions of people worldwide to vital services like Gmail, YouTube, and Search, Google has been pushing the network’s limits for more than 25 years. The extensive backbone network of Google is the cornerstone. Google’s network offers a strong and resilient worldwide infrastructure with 202 points of presence (PoPs), 33 subsea cables, and more than 2 million miles of fiber. It is also supported by a 99.99% reliability Service level agreements.
Its Cross-Cloud Network solutions and Google Cloud are powered by the same planet-scale network architecture. Google Cloud is also announcing that new Cloud WAN solution makes Google’s worldwide network accessible to all governments and enterprises.
Business wide area network (WAN) infrastructures may be transformed with cloud WAN, a fully managed, dependable, and secure business backbone. It makes use of Google’s planet-scale network, which is tuned for the speed of applications. Compared to a customer-managed WAN solution, cloud WAN offers up to 40% lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and up to 40% quicker performance1 than the public internet.
The development of the business WAN
In the past, businesses mostly depended on multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networks, which are expensive, to provide safe and dependable site-to-site communication. But the quick uptake of SaaS and cloud apps demanded a change, and SD-WAN with direct internet access (DIA), a less expensive option that made use of the internet, emerged. Enterprises then constructed colocation-based cloud on-ramps to improve application performance, which increased latency but also added complexity and expense. An uneven security posture resulted from the emergence of security stacks with a combination of self-managed equipment and security service edge (SSE).
As a result, managing business connection has grown more challenging due to its intrinsic complexity, which is characterized by multiple networks with fragmented security and necessitates a continual balancing act between cost, speed, and dependability.
AI’s fast growth has strained corporate networks. Artificial Intelligence-based applications require a highly distributed infrastructure that is often dispersed across clouds and on-premises data centers. It must scale massively, offer strong security and privacy, and use resources efficiently and cost-effectively.
To meet these demands, Cloud WAN provides a single business network solution that helps to guarantee maximum performance and cut costs while securely and reliably connecting across every company location, application, and user.
Two important use cases are made possible by cloud wide area networking (WAN): linking branch and campus settings via its Premium Tier network and offering high-performance connection across geographically separated data centers.
Use case 1: Cross-region connection and high performance
Reliable data transfer is essential for big, international clients with vast data center networks. A contemporary substitute for conventional systems with constrained capacity, high operating costs, and poorer dependability, cloud wide area networking (WAN) offers a variety of connection choices for connecting geographically separated data centers.
These fundamental characteristics make this use case possible:
You can connect your data center to Google Cloud from more than 159 locations worldwide using Cloud Interconnect’s private and dedicated low-latency connections between Google Cloud regions and on-premise data centers.
Available in 21 regions, Cross-Cloud Interconnect facilitates multicloud communication between Google Cloud and other public cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, and OCI.
Cross-Site Interconnect, which is intended for businesses, government organizations, and telecom carriers, allows dedicated point-to-point layer 2 private 10/100G connection that is optimized to link applications between data centers. Google Cloud is the first significant cloud provider to allow transparent layer 2 communication across its network via Cross-Site Interconnect. Google Cloud id now previewing it in a few nations, and in the upcoming year, it will extend it to more edge regions.
Among the main advantages of cross-site interconnect are:
Performance at the enterprise level
Google’s high-performance worldwide network and Cross-Site Interconnect, a high-bandwidth (10/100G) data center interconnect solution, come with built-in redundancy and a service level agreement.
Reach and capability worldwide
The worldwide backbone of Google Cloud, which consists of more than 2 million miles of fiber and has international capacity for trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific networks, is where Cross-Site Interconnect operates.
Cost-and risk-optimized
In order to assist ensure steady service availability, Cross-Site Interconnect uses redundant fiber infrastructure to dynamically redirect network traffic around physical network and optical-fiber faults.
Take note: Scalable layer 3 routing solutions using Network Connectivity Centre (NCC) are also supported by Google Cloud.
Use case 2: Convert campus and branch networks
As a potent cloud on-ramp, Google’s Premium Tier network facilitates the safe connection of campuses and branch offices to the internet, SaaS apps, and public cloud services. The performance and dependability of Google’s trusted network are extended directly to businesses with Cloud WAN, a unified, fully managed solution that offers on-demand, any-to-any connection with built-in security and a lower TCO. Additionally, open yet closely knit ecosystem promotes flexibility and customized solutions by giving businesses access to the greatest security and network services available.
Performance can be increased by up to 40% with a premium tier network
Google’s unmatched backbone network, which offers your apps a stable and durable base, is the cornerstone of excellent performance.
- The Premium Tier network service from Google is meant to provide the best possible application performance. It guarantees that internet traffic aimed for Cloud WAN enters and leaves Google’s high-performance network at the PoP that is nearest to it geographically. By reducing network hops, this lowers latency and improves user consistency.
- Google is ranked 1st among cloud providers and sixth in worldwide peering, with more than 5700 direct peering connections and reachability to more than 60K autonomous system numbers (ASNs). The performance of applications is further improved by this vast peering network, which helps to guarantee effective traffic exchange with other networks.
- Through Verified Peering Provider service, clients may choose ISPs to ensure optimal availability. Now available to all ISPs worldwide, the initiative offers diversified, redundant connection.
- The last-mile handoff to Cloud WAN from customer-operated facilities, such as data centres, branches, warehouses, and airports, is made possible via dedicated fibre connectivity in collaboration with Lumen Technologies (available in select areas in 2025).
- Through the use of Cloud WAN, BT is allowing its Global Fabric network-as-a-service (NaaS) offering to give its clients direct connection to Google Cloud.
The design of cloud wide area networks (WANs) provides adaptable solutions to meet the various connection needs of contemporary businesses. While campuses and data centers can utilize Cloud Interconnect for high-bandwidth (10G, 100G) connectivity, Network Connectivity Centre serves as a central location for businesses to connect their branches utilizing Cloud VPN or their preferred SD-WAN solution. Currently, site-to-site data transmission with Network Connectivity Centre is accessible in 20 countries worldwide to further increase the reach and dependability of corporate networks.
By integrating these potent network features, Cloud WAN significantly enhances the application experience, enabling companies to give their consumers the performance they want.
TCO may be reduced by up to 40% using cloud WAN
With the flexibility of both usage-based and fixed-price solutions to fit different demands, Cloud WAN offers up to 40% lower TCO than a customer-managed WAN solution. It also considerably reduces fixed, upfront expenses. Google Cloud is expanding a fixed-price model for Cloud Interconnect that will be widely accessible this quarter for businesses that conduct high-bandwidth internet data transfers. By consolidating their carrier-neutral facility installations into fewer cloud regions, cloud wide area networks (WANs) enable businesses to cut expenses.
An ecosystem that is open and strongly connected to allow for freedom and choice
With an open, flexible, and closely connected ecosystem, cloud wide area networking (WAN) gives businesses the resources they need to create reliable and agile networks. Network and security services from a wide range of ISV ecosystems can be easily integrated with cloud WAN:
- Robust community of SD-WAN partners, including top suppliers like Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper Networks, Netskope, Velocloud, and others. Businesses have the option to use managed overlay connection with service partners or self-manage.
- The first significant cloud solution to provide controlled integration of security service edge (SSE) for users accessing private and public apps is Cloud WAN utilising NCC Gateway. Palo Alto Networks, Menlo Security, and Broadcom all provide SSE solutions.
- Adaptable security features that enable you to utilise either Cloud Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) or Network Security Integration to combine NGFW virtual appliances from Check Point, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks.
In order to create flexible, safe, and automated branch networks and enable the quick rollout of additional branches and services, you may also expand the advantages of Cloud WAN with partner solutions.
- By providing cloud-based, infrastructure-free Domain Name Service (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and IP Address Management (IPAM), Infoblox Universal DDI modernises and streamlines branch networks. By guarding against malware and phishing, an optional DNS security feature makes sure your users can connect securely to important apps.
- AI-driven campus and branch transformation is offered by Juniper Networks Mist, which also offers extensive analytics and automation to maximise user experiences. Critical network services including Wi-Fi, wired access, SD-WAN, network access control (NAC), indoor location services, and IoT analytics are all included in this integration.
- For latency-sensitive applications, integration with Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) in a linked configuration extends the processing advantages of Google Cloud to the edge. GDC is a fully managed platform that supports virtual machine (VM) and containerized applications. It also uses Cloud WAN to automatically connect to Google Cloud regions.
Services administered by partners
When moving to Cloud WAN, businesses who now depend on managed services providers for their corporate backbone requirements can keep working with their chosen partners. Additionally, businesses may work with one of global system integrators (GSI) if they need assistance with Cloud WAN deployment, migration, and operation. Accenture, HCLTech, and Wipro were among the Cloud WAN partners at launch; they currently provide services for architecture, design, migration, and continuous management.
Find out more
Cloud WAN has the potential to completely transform how businesses connect and safeguard their international infrastructure. Cloud WAN allows you to concentrate on innovation and growth in the cloud and beyond by providing simplicity, great performance, a multitude of connection and security service options, and considerable cost savings.
Learn more about Cloud WAN on the Cross-Cloud Network solution page and at Next ’25. Additionally, have a look at Google Cloud Next 2025’s several other fantastic networking breakout sessions.
