In a surprising move, AWS and Google Cloud have recently partnered to simplify multicloud networking, introducing a common standard and leveraging "AWS Interconnect - Multicloud" and "Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect". The new option makes it easier for organizations to manage and secure workloads across both clouds, with Azure expected to join in 2026.
Currently in preview, the solution combines AWS Interconnect – Multicloud with Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect and defines an open interoperability specification that other…
In a surprising move, AWS and Google Cloud have recently partnered to simplify multicloud networking, introducing a common standard and leveraging "AWS Interconnect - Multicloud" and "Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect". The new option makes it easier for organizations to manage and secure workloads across both clouds, with Azure expected to join in 2026.
Currently in preview, the solution combines AWS Interconnect – Multicloud with Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Interconnect and defines an open interoperability specification that other cloud providers can also adopt. Designed to avoid managing circuits, routers, and routing configurations, the new option is intended to simplify the deployment of secure multicloud workloads, enabling customers to establish private, high-speed connectivity between Google Cloud and AWS.
Available on GitHub, the Connection Coordinator API Specification describes the OpenAPI 3.0 specification for the symmetric API used to coordinate managed L3 connectivity. Rob Enns, VP of cloud networking at Google Cloud, and Robert Kennedy, VP of network services at AWS, write:
Previously, to connect cloud service providers, customers had to manually set up complex networking components including physical connections and equipment (...) This could take weeks or even months. AWS had a vision for developing this capability as a unified specification that could be adopted by any cloud service provider, and collaborated with Google Cloud to bring it to market.
The new solution targets customers who want to run workloads across distributed regions, have low-bandwidth needs, and want cross-cloud connectivity without managing physical infrastructure. One of the common concerns among practitioners is the pricing of the solution, which has not been disclosed yet, with Corey Quinn, chief cloud economist at The Duckbill Group, writing:
This is either transformative or a waste of everyone’s time, and it’s impossible to tell which because the one thing that matters most to settling that question is "what’s the price." They aren’t disclosing it yet, so at the moment it occupies a superposition of "excellent/crap." Please collapse the waveform so we know which one it is.
According to AWS documentation, the managed private connectivity service enables customers to define direct 1 Gbps connections between AWS VPCs and Google Cloud VPCs at no cost during the preview. Tyler Batts, senior customer ops engineer at Second Front, comments:
It’s not in GovCloud yet, but the direction is obvious: AWS is baking multicloud into the platform instead of leaving teams to piece it together themselves (...) If you run serious workloads in the cloud, this is one of those updates worth paying attention to!
All connections between the AWS and Google Cloud network devices are encrypted by default, and hardware is configured to transmit customer traffic only when the encryption session is active. Enns and Kennedy add:
Both providers engage in continuous monitoring to proactively detect and resolve issues. And this solution is built on a foundation of trust, utilizing MACsec encryption between the Google Cloud and AWS edge routers.
The preview is currently free and supports five AWS and Google Cloud regions in the US and Europe, including Northern Virginia, Oregon, and Frankfurt.
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Renato Losio
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