AWS and Microsoft Launch Private Link to Simplify Multicloud Connectivity

Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are making it easier for businesses to run applications and data across their rival cloud platforms. The companies have introduced managed private connectivity between AWS and Microsoft Azure, allowing customers to establish dedicated links between the two environments without having to build and maintain the underlying physical network themselves.

The new services, AWS Interconnect – multicloud with Azure and Azure Multicloud Interconnect for AWS, are currently available in public preview. They are designed to address a problem that has followed multicloud strategies for years: connecting different cloud environments can be technically complicated, time-consuming and expensive to manage.

Connecting AWS and Azure without the usual network headache

Businesses using both AWS and Azure have traditionally had to coordinate several pieces of infrastructure to get the two environments working together. That can involve physical connections, routing, provisioning, monitoring and ongoing network maintenance. Under the new model, much of that work moves to AWS and Microsoft. The providers handle the physical network infrastructure, capacity provisioning, VLAN configuration, Border Gateway Protocol sessions and maintenance. Customers create a logical interconnect through their existing cloud management tools instead. AWS said customers can provision the connection through the AWS Management Console, command-line interface or API, while Azure customers can manage it through the Azure portal. The service uses pre-provisioned capacity between the two providers rather than requiring customers to arrange individual physical cross-connects.

Built for high-performance cloud workloads

The AWS-Azure connection is not designed as a basic internet-based link. It provides dedicated private connectivity between the two cloud environments, with the architecture using four independent logical paths across separate interconnect facilities and routers. AWS says the design targets 99.99% availability and uses MACsec encryption between AWS and Azure edge routers. The service also includes network monitoring through CloudWatch Network Synthetic Monitor, which can provide measurements such as latency and packet loss. Bandwidth will also increase as the service moves towards general availability. Microsoft says Azure Multicloud Interconnect will support connection speeds of up to 100 Gbps at general availability, while AWS documentation currently limits preview connections to 1 Gbps.

Why multicloud connectivity matters

Using more than one cloud provider has become increasingly common among large organisations. Flexera's 2026 State of the Cloud report found that 84% of enterprise respondents were running some or significant workloads on AWS, while 82% reported the same for Azure. Companies may end up using multiple clouds for different reasons. Acquisitions can leave separate systems on different platforms, applications may be designed around different cloud services, and regulatory requirements can influence where data and workloads are hosted. The challenge is that choosing multiple providers can create another layer of infrastructure work. The UK Competition and Markets Authority has previously identified networking and connectivity as technical barriers for organisations trying to use or integrate multiple cloud providers.

Part of a wider multicloud push

The AWS-Azure launch also fits into AWS's broader attempt to make its cloud platform easier to connect with competing providers. AWS introduced Interconnect – multicloud with Google Cloud before making that service generally available in April 2026. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure followed with preview availability in May and general availability in July. Azure is the latest major cloud provider to adopt the open API specification behind AWS Interconnect – multicloud. The same interoperability framework is now being used for AWS connections with Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

For businesses, the immediate benefit is fairly straightforward: fewer networking components to assemble and less physical infrastructure to manage when workloads need to operate across AWS and Azure. The AWS-Azure service remains in public preview, with no general availability date announced yet. AWS and Microsoft say they plan to expand regional availability and bandwidth options as the service develops.