Alkira, Inc. – Creating the future of Cloud Area Networking through global unified network infrastructure

A business's networking abilities and data may be partially or entirely stored in either a public or a private cloud environment operated internally or by the service offered and readily accessible on demand. This is known as cloud networking. Companies can use a cloud-based platform in the public cloud, or on-premises to create a privatized or a hybrid cloud combination of both. These network platforms may provide virtual routers, bandwidth control software, firewalls, and other characteristics and tools. Suppose you want to learn about the benefit of using cloud computing in networking. In that case, we suggest the Cloud Computing certification to get a head start on your learning process. 

Alkira, Inc. is one such firm that has reinvented networking for the cloud by delivering the Alkira Cloud Services Exchange™. It is the first unified multi-cloud network with integrated services, visibility, and governance, all delivered as-a-service. Alkira was founded in 2018 by a computer networking team that created the multi-billion-dollar SD-WAN market. It is a multi-cloud network that can take you to and across clouds in minutes instead of months. The firm offers network where services, like firewalls, live and scale in the cloud. A network you draw instead of build. A network delivered as a service. Alkira has reinvented networking for the cloud era by delivering the network cloud, the first global unified network infrastructure with on-demand hybrid and multi-cloud connectivity, integrated network and security services, end-to-end visibility, controls and governance, all delivered as-a-service. The joint solution from Cisco and Alkira allows organizations to seamlessly extend their security services to the cloud with Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (formerly FTD), providing granularity, control, and simplicity; unmatched by the native cloud deployments.

Simplifying Cloud Networking through Robust Solutions

Global On-Demand Multi-Cloud Network: Alkira is the industry's only solution with single-click provisioning of the global multi-cloud network and network services. Cut provisioning time from months to minutes. Alkira Cloud Services Exchange™ (Alkira CSX) is the industry's first as-a-service unified multi-cloud network with integrated network services marketplace, visibility, and governance. It removes obstacles to the successful cloud and multi-cloud adoption. Leveraging a globally distributed virtual infrastructure of Alkira Cloud Exchange Points™ (virtual multi-cloud points of presence with full routing stack and network services capabilities), organizations can establish a global on-demand cloud and multi-cloud network connectivity. Remote access VPNs leverage the “trust, but verify” model, which cannot protect against modern-day attacks. Users get authenticated but gain unrestricted access to the entire network. Attackers can move laterally compromising systems. Datacenter VPN termination increases cloud applications latency.

On-Demand Network Services Marketplace: The firm leverages a globally distributed virtual infrastructure of Alkira Cloud Exchange Points™ (virtual multi-cloud points of presence with full routing stack and network services capabilities). Organizations can extend their security policy enforcement capabilities into the cloud with Palo Alto VM-Series Firewalls. Palo Alto VM-Series Firewalls can secure both communications from remote sites into the public clouds and the SaaS/Internet and the communication between multiple public cloud instances in the same public cloud or across multiple public clouds. With Alkira CSX, your multi-cloud network and Palo Alto VM-Series Firewall security are offered as-a-service, on-demand, when you need it.

Cloud Visibility and Governance: It is Industry's only solution with single-click provisioning of the entire global multi-cloud network and network services. Connect users and sites to public clouds and connect public clouds, while cutting provisioning time from months to minutes. Alkira Cloud Services Exchange Portal is a single web interface for designing, provisioning, and operating your entire multi-cloud network. The firm is leveraging industry-leading graphical visualization. Alkira solution offers insights into numerous critical visibility elements for applications, networks, and network services, allowing organizations to deploy not only global multi-cloud network and network services in minutes, but also achieve operational excellence.

Cloud DMZ: Building on-premises DMZ environments typically requires installing and configuring hardware equipment in data centers or colocations. These legacy architectures are inflexible and hard to scale with business demand. Do-it-yourself cloud DMZ environments are bound by restrictive cloud limits and a lack of enterprise-grade controls. Firewall service insertion is complex and routing support is rudimentary. Enterprises need a simple, elastic, and cost-effective way to establish feature-rich DMZ environments for on-premise, cloud, and multi-cloud applications. Most enterprises are running applications in public clouds, but depend on an archaic DMZ in a colocation or data center for access. Alkira builds a better DMZ within public clouds closer to your workloads. The company provides dynamic public IP address allocation; DNS resolution and network address translation.

Meet the Leader behind the Success of Alkira, Inc.

Amir Khan is the Founder, President, and also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Alkira, Inc. He is a computer networking visionary who founded and led Viptela’s market-leading, cloud-first, Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) business before its acquisition by Cisco. As prescient as he was in identifying the $8B opportunity for SD-WAN, Amir recognized that the network hampered the cloud journey and founded Alkira in 2018 with CTO Atif Khan to reinvent networking for the cloud era. Amir’s vision is to deliver the Cloud Network as-a-Service (CNaaS). Alkira has delivered the industry’s first Network Cloud, a global unified cloud network infrastructure delivered as-a-service with 1) connectivity for hybrid and multi-cloud networks 2) integrated network and security services, and 3) end-to-end operational visibility and governance. Alkira CSX, is an on-demand, as-a-service, point and click, unified CNaaS that enables cloud architects to design, build, and deploy a global multi-cloud network in minutes.

Mr. Khan earned an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mississippi.

“Alkira has reinvented networking for the cloud era by delivering Cloud Area Networking, and multi-cloud connectivity, integrated network and security services, end-to-end visibility, controls and governance, all delivered as-a-service.”