AWS Interconnect adds Azure as multicloud partner, targets universal standard
In brief
- AWS Interconnect achieved general availability April 14, 2026, after late-2025 preview
- Microsoft Azure joins Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud as AWS Interconnect partners in 2026
- Service reduces provisioning time from weeks to minutes with 4-way resiliency and MACsec encryption
- AWS published open specification on GitHub to position Interconnect as industry standard
- AWS offers one free 500 Mbps local interconnect per region starting May 2026
Faster provisioning, built-in resilience
AWS Interconnect compresses provisioning into a three-step process through the AWS console or command-line interface. What once took weeks now takes minutes. The service comes with built-in 4-way resiliency, meaning connections stay up even if individual links fail. MACsec encryption secures the inter-provider links, protecting traffic across cloud boundaries.
Salesforce is already using AWS Interconnect as an early customer, connecting its environments between AWS and Google Cloud. The use case reflects a broader market trend: enterprises increasingly run workloads across multiple cloud providers and need reliable, fast ways to tie them together.
Open standard, not proprietary silo
AWS published an open specification on GitHub, signaling it wants this to become an industry-wide standard rather than a closed AWS feature. That move matters. If smaller cloud providers and specialized platforms adopt the same standard, AWS Interconnect could evolve from a point-to-point service into something resembling a universal cloud networking protocol.
Pricing follows a single-fee model based on bandwidth and geography. Starting May 2026, AWS offers one free 500 Mbps local interconnect per region, lowering the barrier for teams exploring multicloud architectures.
"AWS Interconnect compresses that into a three-step process through the AWS console or command line interface, with provisioning that once took weeks now taking minutes."
The addition of Azure signals AWS's pragmatism. By welcoming a major competitor into the interconnect program, AWS is acknowledging a market reality: customers want to use both platforms, and the cloud provider that makes that easier wins their trust.
