AWS and Google Cloud Preview Secure Multi-Cloud Networking

In a surprising collaboration, AWS and Google Cloud have recently joined forces to streamline multi-cloud networking by introducing a common standard leveraging "AWS Interconnect - Multi Cloud" and "Google Cloud's Cross-Cloud Interconnect." This new offering enables organizations to more easily manage and secure workloads across both cloud platforms, with expectations that Azure will join the initiative by 2026.

Currently in preview, the solution integrates AWS Interconnect - Multi Cloud with Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect and establishes an open interoperability specification that other cloud providers can adopt. Designed to eliminate the need for managing circuits, routers, and routing configurations, this option simplifies the deployment of secure multi-cloud workloads, allowing customers to establish private, high-speed connections between Google Cloud and AWS.

Available on GitHub, the Connector Coordinator API specification provides an OpenAPI 3.0 definition for symmetric APIs used to coordinate managed Layer 3 connections. Rob Enns, Vice President of Networking at Google Cloud, and Robert Kennedy, Vice President of Network Services at AWS, stated:

Previously, connecting cloud service providers required customers to manually configure complex network components, including physical links and devices (...), which could take weeks or even months. AWS's vision was to develop this capability as a unified specification that any cloud provider could adopt—and we partnered with Google Cloud to bring it to market.

The target audience includes organizations running distributed workloads across regions with modest bandwidth needs who want cross-cloud connectivity without managing physical infrastructure. A key concern among practitioners is pricing, which remains undisclosed. Corey Quinn, Chief Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group, commented:

This is either transformative or a waste of everyone's time—and we can't tell yet because the most critical detail, 'How much does it cost?' hasn’t been revealed. Until then, it exists in a superposition of 'great' and 'terrible.' Please collapse the wave function and let us know which one it is.

According to AWS documentation, the managed private connection service allows customers to define direct 1 Gbps connections between AWS VPCs and Google Cloud VPCs at no cost during the preview period. Tyler Batts, Senior Customer Operations Engineer at Second Front, noted:

It's not available in GovCloud yet, but the direction is clear: AWS is baking multi-cloud integration directly into the platform instead of leaving teams to cobble things together (...). If you're running significant workloads in the cloud, this is one of those updates worth watching!

All connections between AWS and Google Cloud network equipment are encrypted by default, with hardware configured to transmit customer traffic only when encrypted sessions are active. Enns and Kennedy added:

Both providers participate in continuous monitoring to proactively detect and resolve issues. This solution is built on trust, using MACsec encryption between edge routers on Google Cloud and AWS.

The preview is currently free and supports five AWS and Google Cloud regions across the U.S. and Europe, including Northern Virginia, Oregon, and Frankfurt.