Dallas-based telecom leader, AT&T, signed a multi-year agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offer joint services in the areas of cloud networking, IoT, security, and analytics. The terms of the deal was not disclosed, though a press release from AT&T said that this partnership would give its customers access to AWS Cloud in many ways.

This is a significant partnership for both the companies, as it helps one to tap into the strength of the other. Telecom companies like AT&T do not have the cloud infrastructure like that of companies like Amazon and Microsoft, so partnerships are the best way to beef up their offerings. It would take a ton of money and even many years for AT&T to build an infrastructure the size of AWS, and this is why it’s a sensible move to tap into the strength of this cloud service provider.

Earlier, AT&T had signed an agreement with Microsoft to use its Azure platform to securely move customer-centric data between private and public cloud. Also, it entered into an agreement with IBM in 2012 for a similar service.

If you’re wondering why AT&T signed another agreement with AWS, it is to focus on these three specific areas:

• Under this partnership, AT&T’s NetBond customers can establish faster and more secure connections to the AWS Cloud.  NetBond is an MPLS VPN service that connects enterprise applications to public clouds. Over the last year, NetBond has seen a four-fold increase in traffic, and this partnership is expected to provide enhanced customer visibility, security, and automation for these customers.

• Through this partnership, AT&T plans to have a stronger foothold in the IoT market, thereby allowing AT&T devices to send data to the cloud seamlessly. This is also a huge market for AT&T, as many connected devices such as cars and fitness machines come with sensors that collect pertinent information from the users. A reliable network is needed to send this data to the cloud, and AT&T wants to project itself as the leading network service provider to send this data. Already, its network includes 29 million connected devices, and these numbers could go up hugely with cloud integration.

• The final focus area is to improve security on cloud platforms, so the response time for threats is greatly reduced. This is in line with AT&T’s plan to boost its Threat Intellect Platform that was launched this summer. It’s AT&T’s own machine learning system that identifies real-time threats as they occur, and this system can get a big boost with AWS’s cloud security and infrastructure.

These three focus areas could expand to include more areas too in the future, as AT&T is looking to consolidate its cloud business, as a way to make up for the declining growth in its traditional role as a telecom provider.

To implement the terms of this partnership, both companies plan to employ specialists from their respective companies on a joint effort to work on the specified areas.

In all, this is another significant partnership that is sure to augur well not just for the companies, but also for the industry and its customers as a whole.

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