Multicloud networking vendor Alkira today announced it's launching a virtualized point of presence or Cloud Exchange Point (CXP) in China to support enterprise connectivity across global networks in partnership with Chinese network-as-a-service (NaaS) provider CBC Tech.

Alkira's CXPs rely on the hyperscale infrastructure public cloud providers for global connectivity, and the China offering will initially be available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. "Most global enterprises are using the big three public cloud providers, so we prioritized this based on the impact it would have on large customers," Alkira Principal Cloud Architect William Collins told SDxCentral.

With CXP presence in China, Alkira's enterprise customers can control their entire network without needing to deploy or manage multiple infrastructure domains in different regions of China. This allows operators to use one interface for network routing, traffic control, visibility and intent-based policy globally. "Managing your network in China is just as simple as anywhere else," Collins said.

Alkira chose to partner with CBC Tech based on the vendor's flexible offerings and competitive pricing. CBC also has "a ton of experience handling cloud and networking in China, so we know we’re getting a reliable partner that’s comfortable navigating the region with its unique set of rules and regulations," Collins said.

The new CXP addresses challenges associated with Chinese laws that require sensitive data to be stored and processed locally, which "limits the options that American businesses and others have if they're interested in doing business in China," Collins said.

For example, all the data hosted in China needs to be unencrypted for inspection purposes, and the country maintains certain rules on data import and export, according to Omdia Chief Analyst Roy Illsley. Restrictions on moving data across the Chinese border often complicate information sharing and "really impact global businesses and how they operate," Collins said.

As opposed to the U.S., all of China's cross-border traffic undergoes careful scrutiny, making data transfer to and from the country a significant challenge. Every website and online service that uses ports 443 and 8080 requires an ICP license for data protection, and only three telecommunications companies are allowed to provide cross-border connectivity: China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom.

In order to access the country from the outside, non-Chinese companies have to traverse China's firewall before communicating successfully with their target. Alkira does this by tapping into AWS and Microsoft's cloud presence in China, though these cloud regions aren't part of the global backbone network and can only be accessed via that complex route.

To that point, compliance is top of mind for organizations doing business in China. "This means having an additional responsibility to manage and oftentimes additional staff to manage it," Collins said. Alkira's latest CXP aims to simplify those nuances and provide an experience similar to what customers would get in less regulated regions.

The difficulty in providing a service like this, Illsley noted, is that Alkira has to use a local China partner like CBC Tech and comply with regional regulations. The vendor's approach, however, "makes this process as straightforward as possible," he said.