Colt Technology Services has announced it is offering Microsoft SaaS customers in Asia access to its IP Access service, with the underlying aim of supporting organisations on their digital transformation initiatives.

Customers across Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore now have access to Colt's IP Access service with Cloud Priority, underpinned by new Peerings with Microsoft.

This service complements Microsoft Azure Peering Service and further strengthens collaboration with Microsoft by providing cloud-optimised, dedicated internet connectivity for enterprises utilising Microsoft SaaS services, including Teams and Microsoft 365, Colt states.

Colt's Cloud Prioritisation Service for IP Access is designed to provide enhanced performance through end-to-end routing optimisation and flow prioritisation.

It is delivering an elevated customer experience by ensuring that Teams and Microsoft 365 flows are optimised end-to-end including the last mile, from all customers sites connected via Colt IP Access to Azure.

This announcement comes in addition to Colt joining last year the Azure Networking Managed Service Provider Programme, giving enterprise customers access to a networking experience which helps them to connect, operationalise, and scale the adoption of their cloud services on Azure.

According to Colt, this collaboration with Microsoft allows the company to assist enterprises in their cloud migration journey, whether in identifying the required network infrastructure to achieve the desired level of application performance and reliability, or providing the actual connectivity to Azure, Microsoft 365 or Teams.

Azure Peering Services combined with Colt's new Cloud Prioritisation Service provide customers 20 peering points with a high level of security due to the fact that no data will go through any third-party IP network, other than Colt's and Microsoft's.

Colt head of Asia and representative director - president Masato Hoshino says, “We know that many organisations are in the process of migrating their on-premise operations either partially or fully to the cloud.

“In the journey of such cloud-based digital transformation and to maximise the benefit from the cloud, having secure and stable connectivity is vital for the business.

“That is why we have been focusing on improving cloud connectivity. As more and more companies introduce flexible and remote work, the demand for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams increases as their primary method of communication and collaboration.

“We understand the power these tools bring to businesses, and the enhanced collaboration between Colt and Microsoft further strengthens their customer experience in a meaningful way.

Microsoft GM Microsoft Azure Jeff Cohen says, “Colt has been a Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute partner providing on-demand and dedicated connectivity to Microsoft Azure.

“We're pleased to work with Colt as a launch partner for Azure Peering Services in Europe and to see their services expand to Asia.

Colt is a Gold Partner of Microsoft and has been an Azure Express Route partner since 2014.