Cloudflare, Kyndryl bolster alliance for network transformation

Cloudflare and IT infrastructure services provider Kyndryl have heralded an expansion of their current partnership into a Global Strategic Alliance. This progression comes after close on one year of a solid partnership forged in May of 2023, focusing on driving enterprise network transformation.

The pair's alliance has been dynamically tapping into an expanding demand for their enterprise network transformation services. Together, they've devised a comprehensive solution to help transition enterprises' legacy network infrastructure to the cloud. This includes everything, from networking to Kyndryl's comprehensive service expertise, and Cloudflare's robust connectivity cloud, which promises enhanced security, performance, and multi-cloud flexibility. Examples of the enterprises that have utilised their services range over various sectors and countries; from the supply chain distribution sector in the US, a trendsetting financial institution in Spain, to Ashok Leyland, the renowned commercial vehicle manufacturer in India.

The crux of the expanded partnership remains modernising enterprise infrastructure across the IT stack. Their approach focuses on streamlining connectivity to multiple clouds and data centres, with an unflinching eye on providing cutting-edge network security. The strategic alliance aims to expedite digital maturity and network modernisation, offer savings on private network links and appliances, replacement of traditional WAN to extend network security to offices, and practising sustainable networking.

As proof of their value proposition, Vinod Gopinathan, CIO at Ashok Leyland, stated, "From dealer management to vehicle tracking, we need to run our 50+ Internet applications with zero or minimal disruption and enhanced security. Kyndryl's managed services with Cloudflare's DDoS protection and mitigation solution enables Ashok Leyland to focus on our pursuit of technology innovation, advanced engineering, and enhanced connectivity."

Speaking on the broadened alliance, Paul Savill, Global Practice Leader of Networking and Edge Compute at Kyndryl, declared his enthusiasm at "enabling enterprises to migrate to next-generation networks and capitalize on advanced cloud features to achieve greater agility and innovation." He expressed his delight at expanding the relationship with Cloudflare and emphasized the commitment to assist clients to secure, streamline, and simplify their IT infrastructure cost-effectively and efficiently.

Matt Harrell, Global Head of Channels and Alliances at Cloudflare, emphasised the successful partnership with Kyndryl that had allowed them to scale Cloudflare's services to a new level. He maintained that the Global Strategic Alliance they have formed can support any enterprise across their entire network stack, irrespective of where they currently stand in their cloud journey.

The benefits of the partnership have also been seen first-hand by Kyndryl, which has utilised Cloudflare's solutions for the transformation of its network services, along with the provision of cloud cybersecurity protection, including DDoS mitigation. This alignment has resulted in notable IT infrastructure cost reduction, accelerated web traffic, and augmented performance for data load balancing for Kyndryl.