AT&T is launching a cellular-equipped enterprise device that taps into Microsoft’s Azure Sphere security platform to provide a secure cloud connection that bypasses the public internet. The combination is the first to come from a wide-ranging “cloud” agreement announced last year between the two companies.

The device, which is being labeled as a “guardian device,” looks like a small router used in most enterprises. It’s designed to be self-installed and self-provisioned.

Once plugged in, it automatically connects to AT&T’s global cellular connectivity service that includes embedded multi-layer security from the carrier's core network. The cellular connection is available in more than 200 countries through roaming agreements with 500 carriers, but all of that traffic is routed through AT&T’s network core and directly to cloud.

The cellular connection also means that the device does not need to tap into a WiFi network, which eliminates security concerns tied with enterprises having to provision their own network security.

Once connected, the device uses that AT&T cellular link to run through Microsoft’s Azure Sphere security service to deliver data to and from the Azure cloud. It can also act as a connection point for already deployed IoT equipment within an organization that uses Azure Sphere to protect data streamed between the legacy device and the guardian device.

Microsoft’s Azure Sphere was unveiled in early 2018. It’s designed to support the building of secured microcontroller devices that can work with edge applications. It was also the first completely open source-based product built by Microsoft.

The device and service build on a multi-year agreement signed by the two companies last year. That deal, which was reportedly valued at more than $2 billion, calls for Microsoft to be the preferred cloud provider for non-network applications.

“This agreement is a huge step toward our goal of becoming a public-cloud first company,” wrote then AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan in a LinkedIn post as part of that agreement. “This will reduce costs while making our business faster and more agile. On its Azure platform, we can go faster from concept to deployment for customers. And it assures us of leading-edge AI, machine learning, and security.”

Donovan added that the migration of most non-network workloads to the public cloud will be completed by 2024. The carrier noted at that time that this will allow it to “focus on core network capabilities, accelerate innovation for its customers, and empower its workforce while optimizing costs.

Donovan, who led AT&T’s SDN efforts, left the carrier shortly after the deal was announced.

That deal was also tied to ongoing work between AT&T and Microsoft on rolling out network edge compute (NEC) technology that ties together Microsoft’s Azure cloud and AT&T’s network edge locations. The combo will allow AT&T’s software-defined and virtualized 5G core that make up its Network Cloud platform to support Azure services closer to customers.

Sid Nag, VP of cloud services and technologies at Gartner, said that while he “liked” the AT&T-Microsoft partnership, it seemed to fall short of a similar edge arrangement between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Verizon. That deal ties together AWS Wavelength edge compute service with Verizon’s 5G Edge platform.

“It does not seem to have an AWS/Wavelength like strategy/solution” where AWS used its Outposts platform in a deal with Verizon’s 5G effort,” Nag wrote in an email to SDxCentral.

Verizon this week expanded the reach of its 5G Edge platform to Atlanta; New York; and Washington, D.C. That service is now available in 5 markets, including previous launches in Boston and the Bay Area, with plans to add 5 more markets by year-end.