Aviatrix Launches Multi-Cloud Transit in 6.0

Multicloud2

By: Mary Jander
July 02, 2020


Aviatrix has unveiled Aviatrix Transit, the latest iteration of its multi-cloud virtualized networking platform, adding network segmentation, improved change control, application and network DevOps tools, and complex automated transit networking for cross-cloud applications.

Aviatrix claims this sixth major release of its software not only improves multi-cloud network functions but boosts application performance.

That’s a tall order to fill, but Aviatrix says it’s already up and running at mega-consultancy and analytics provider Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC). “[Aviatrix] allows us to deploy a consistent, repeatable … transit network across multiple clouds with the visibility and control we need for day-two operations,” stated Stacy Lanier, Teradata senior manager of cloud services, in Aviatrix’s press release.

Transit Networking Is Key to Multi-Cloud

The ability to optimize application traffic across multiple clouds is at the heart of this announcement, and it forms the basis of Aviatrix’s strategy. “The transit network is the foundation for every enterprise’s cloud network architecture,” said Steve Mullaney, CEO of Aviatrix, in the statement just cited.

Aviatrix Transit matches routing domains (regional, account-, or service-provider-based) with security policies that fulfill regulatory requirements. Another feature called ActiveMesh governs network traffic through various methods, including what Aviatrix describes as the “capability to propagate BGP intelligence into and across enterprise clouds and to control deterministic path prioritization.”

Aviatrix also touts its integration with Terraform, an open source tool from HashiCorp. that streamlines the coding and maintenance of networking functions in cloud environments. Terraform APIs are used by all of the major cloud providers, along with a slew of other players, such as Fortinet, Nutanix, VMware, and Oracle.

The Multi-Cloud Challenge

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Aviatrix CEO Steve Mullaney believes that multi-cloud environments are the future of enterprise IT. “I lived through the mainframe to client server and Internet shift, that was big,” Mullaney told Futuriom in an interview last October. “But this new computing model transformation is going to be ten times as big and happen a thousand times faster.”

Mullaney gives a few reasons for this belief: First, big enterprises deploy multiple clouds to tap the specific strengths of each — for instance, AWS for so-called elastic development, Azure for Office 365, Oracle for database functions, Google Cloud for TensorFlow AI, and so forth. There also are the oft-cited efficiencies of moving applications to the cloud. But the multi-cloud move won’t work without a coordinating overlay. Enter Aviatrix.

Solving this issue is complex, but comes down to expertise in integrating a variety of tools and technologies and managing it all through a common controller. So far, Aviatrix has filled the bill with products such as CoPilot for visualization and analytics, which was released in April 2020, and of course now Aviatrix Transit.

Staking a Claim in a Growing Market

Aviatrix is determined to maintain its edge the multi-cloud space. So far, it seems to have succeeded with a roster of customers that includes FICO, IHC, and United Airlines. But the market is on the move, and this particular area is heating up.

One startup, Alkira, founded by Amir Khan, released Alkira Cloud Services Exchange (CSX) in April. One of Alkira’s claimed differentiators is its deep knowledge of routing and transit networking. Notably, Khan previously worked in senior technology positions at Cisco, as did Aviatrix founder and chief product officer Sherry Wei.

So far, Aviatrix is further down the product pipeline than Alkira in terms of products and customers, but the ongoing enterprise migration to hybrid and multi-cloud environments has a lot of players perking up, including IBM (NYSE: IBM). Aviatrix will be challenged to maintain a leading edge in the upcoming race.