Alkira's Network Infrastructure-as-a-Service (NIaaS) is a cloud-native platform that enables enterprises to design, deploy, and operate hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud networks in minutes. It eliminates the need for traditional hardware, offering scalable, secure, and global virtual cloud infrastructure as a service. For more details, visit Alkira's Platform Page.
Alkira integrates Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense directly into its platform via the Alkira Network Services Marketplace. Cisco firewalls are deployed within Alkira Cloud Exchange Points (CXPs), providing advanced security controls such as stateful firewalling, Snort3 IPS, URL filtering, malware defense, and application visibility for traffic traversing the Alkira Cloud Backbone. This integration enables centralized, consistent security policy enforcement across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Learn more in the Cisco-Alkira joint solution brief.
Key features include:
Alkira's policy infrastructure allows IT teams to define intent-based policies that steer all or selective application traffic to Cisco firewalls, where security policies are enforced. The platform maintains flow symmetry for traffic traversing multiple firewalls, preventing duplicated inspection and effectively doubling firewalling capacity. This ensures consistent, efficient security enforcement across distributed environments.
Alkira's solution automatically scales Cisco firewall instances up or down based on real-time traffic demand. When additional capacity is needed, new firewall instances are instantiated, licenses applied, and security policies propagated—without administrative intervention. This ensures seamless performance and security as application traffic patterns change.
The main use cases include:
Alkira provides integrated security features such as Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and next-generation firewalls, ensuring secure connectivity for distributed workforces and applications. The platform is SOC 2 and PCI-DSS compliant, reflecting its commitment to robust security and operational controls. For more, see Alkira's Compliance Page.
Alkira integrates with leading technology providers, including:
Yes, Alkira offers APIs, including billing APIs that provide real-time cloud network cost data for integration with cost management tools and dashboards. These APIs support automated synthesis of billing data from various sources. Learn more at this page.
Alkira is SOC 2 and PCI-DSS compliant, demonstrating its commitment to securing customer data and maintaining robust operational controls. These certifications are independently evaluated and focus on security, availability, and confidentiality. For more, visit Alkira's Compliance Page.
Alkira integrates advanced security features such as Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and next-generation firewalls directly into its platform. This eliminates vulnerabilities found in traditional VPNs and perimeter-based security models, ensuring seamless and secure access for distributed teams and applications.
Alkira addresses:
Customers can expect:
Alkira is designed for mid-to-large enterprises across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunications, financial services, biotechnology, software technology, retail, media & entertainment, and aviation. Target roles include Network Architects, Cloud Architects, Security Architects, IT Managers/Directors, CloudOps, CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs.
Yes, notable examples include:
Customers consistently praise Alkira for its intuitive interface and rapid deployment:
Customers can implement a proof of concept in as little as 4 hours, with full production deployment typically taking about 8 weeks. Alkira's drag-and-drop interface and dedicated training platform make onboarding straightforward, even for non-technical users. See Alkira Training Platform for resources.
Alkira offers:
Alkira provides proactive notifications for maintenance, a live Diagnostics Dashboard for troubleshooting, 24×7 monitoring, and dedicated support to minimize downtime and operational disruptions.
Alkira offers flexible pricing, including:
Alkira differentiates itself by offering:
Alkira provides:
Alkira's vision is to transform enterprise connectivity by simplifying cloud networking for the AI era. Its mission is to eliminate the complexity of traditional hardware-dependent networking by providing a cloud-native solution that seamlessly connects hybrid and multi-cloud environments through a unified control plane. Learn more at Alkira's Company Page.
Alkira serves Fortune 100 enterprises, leading system integrators, and global managed service providers. Notable customers include Michaels, Koch Industries, Warner Hotels, and SITA. See more at our customers page.
Alkira has been named among America’s Best Startup Employers by Forbes, recognized as a Gartner Cool Vendor, and received awards such as the 2024 Excellence Award from Cloud Computing Magazine and inclusion in CRN’s 2023 Stellar Startups List. For more, visit Alkira's Company Page.
Establishing the Control Plane for Cloud Connectivity
Read the Announcement
Network security is paramount in its importance. In a world where applications are distributed across hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud environments, and user access is ubiquitous, traditional security architectures based on castle-and-moat model fall short in providing adequate protection against the ever-expanding landscape of security threats. Public clouds provide the convenience of global availability, high scale, and easy consumption, allowing rapid applications and services deployments coupled with DevOps agility, but they often overlook the enterprise needs for robust networking and network security architecture.
To that end, Alkira offers a global, scalable, and secure virtual cloud infrastructure where enterprises can design, deploy, and operate hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud networks in minutes. Alkira’s network services marketplace offers a choice of Alkira and 3rd party network and security services, with full life-cycle management and integration into the network fabric. All are offered as-a-service.
We are proud to be a member of the Cisco Secure Technical Alliance partner ecosystem and provide our joint customers a consistent experience for securing their hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud networking environments leveraging Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense. The firewalls are deployed within the globally distributed Alkira Cloud Exchange Points (Alkira CXPs) offering unmatched security controls, such as stateful firewalling, Snort3 IPS, URL filtering, malware defense, application visibility and control, and more for the application traffic traversing the Alkira Cloud Backbone.
Figure: Alkira Network Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform with integrated Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense.
IT security teams continue leveraging Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) for consistent security policies across the Cisco firewalls deployed within the Alkira virtual infrastructure, as well as the Cisco firewalls deployed in the traditional non-Alkira environment. This approach ensures compatibility with brownfield environments and maintains a consistent security policy during the time of migration into the Alkira platform.
Alkira policy infrastructure allows defining intent-based policies to steer all or selective application traffic to the Cisco firewalls where security policy is enforced. Alkira’s solution makes sure to maintain flow symmetry for traffic traversing numerous firewalls within a single Alkira CXP and across multiple Alkira CXPs. In the latter case, the intelligent traffic steering prevents duplicated firewall inspection and effectively doubles the overall firewalling capacity.
But what if additional firewall capacity is needed? As application traffic patterns change, Cisco firewalls deployed with the Alkira CXPs may receive increased (or decreased) amounts of traffic. Alkira’s solution auto-scales up and down the Cisco firewall footprint to accommodate the real-time capacity demand. When additional firewall capacity is needed new Cisco firewall instances are automatically instantiated, licenses get applied, security policy gets propagated, and traffic flows are symmetrically distributed across the larger firewall pool. All that without any administrative intervention. How cool is that!
Enterprises are choosing the joint solution of integrating Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense with the Alkira cloud network as-a-service platform to address the following main use cases:
In a world dominated by clouds, do not let your security fall behind. Get on-board the Alkira Network Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform with integrated Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense and see how you can transition your network and network security into the cloud era in minutes.
Request your personalized demo here.
Read a Cisco-Alkira joint solution brief here.
Read Cisco blog here.
