AT&T and Microsoft will deliver a reliable cloud solution that will allow their enterprise customers to connect to Microsoft's cloud platform using a private network. The new solution will use cloud integration technology from AT&T to pair virtual private networking with Microsoft?s Windows Azure cloud platform. The companies promise to their customers that they will benefit with as much as a 50 percent lower latency than the public Internet, and they will also have access to cloud resources from any site using almost any wired or wireless device.

AT&T's cloud integration technology, AT&T NetBond, bonds networking and computing resources together and automates functions that are often performed manually. It allows the network and compute resources to flex in tandem to support the fluctuating demands on systems that enterprise cloud users often experience throughout the year. AT&T customers are already able to take advantage of the technology with AT&T?s own cloud offers.

The new cloud solution takes advantage of the Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology underpinning AT&T's virtual private network solution.

The new integrated solution is expected to be available in first half of 2014.