What is Cloud WAN?
Cloud WAN is a fully managed enterprise WAN backbone that Google launched in 2025. It gives enterprises access to the same planet-scale private network that powers globally available Google services such as Gmail, YouTube, and Search. The infrastructure spans roughly 202 points of presence, more than 2 million miles (over 10 million kilometers) of terrestrial and subsea fiber, and 33 subsea cables. Google states a reliability SLA of 99.99%.
Cloud WAN addresses the challenge of reliably and performantly connecting distributed sites, data centers, multiple clouds, and end users without depending on the latency and bandwidth variability of the public internet. For the Cloud WAN backbone, Google cites up to 40% better performance versus the public internet and up to 40% lower total cost of ownership versus customer-managed WAN solutions.
Core Features
- Cloud Interconnect: Private, low-latency links from your own data center across more than 159 global locations, SLA-backed and with high bandwidth into the terabit range.
- Cross-Cloud Interconnect: Dedicated multicloud connectivity to AWS, Azure, and OCI over the Google backbone instead of the public internet.
- Cross-Site Interconnect: Dedicated Layer 2 point-to-point connections at 10 or 100 Gbps for direct data-center-to-data-center connectivity.
- Network Connectivity Center: Central hub for connecting branches and sites, for example via Cloud VPN or SD-WAN partners, using a hub-and-spoke architecture.
Typical Use Cases
Global data center interconnect: Enterprises connect distributed data centers across regions over the Google backbone, achieving consistent, high-performance connectivity for business-critical workloads.
Large-scale inter-region data movement: For AI and data workloads that move large volumes of data between regions, the backbone delivers high bandwidth with predictable latency.
Multicloud and branch connectivity: Sites, campus environments, and other clouds plug into a shared network architecture with any-to-any connectivity through Cross-Cloud Interconnect and the Network Connectivity Center.
Benefits
- Access to Google’s planet-scale private network with a 99.99% SLA without operating your own backbone
- Up to 40% better performance versus the public internet and up to 40% lower total cost of ownership versus self-operated WAN solutions
- Open partner ecosystem with SD-WAN, SSE, and security vendors, plus EU regions for data residency
Integration with innFactory
As a certified Google Cloud Partner, innFactory supports you with the adoption and operation of this service.
Typical Use Cases
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cloud WAN?
Cloud WAN is a fully managed enterprise WAN backbone built on Google's planet-scale private network. It connects sites, data centers, clouds, and users over the same infrastructure that powers Google services such as Search and YouTube. Google states a reliability SLA of 99.99%.
When should I use Cloud WAN?
Cloud WAN fits high-performance connectivity for distributed data centers, large-scale inter-region data movement (such as AI and data workloads), multicloud connectivity to AWS, Azure, and OCI, and connecting branch and campus offices to cloud and SaaS.
How much does Cloud WAN cost?
Cloud WAN uses a usage-based pricing model with fixed-price options. Costs depend on the building blocks you use, such as Cloud Interconnect, Cross-Cloud Interconnect, Cross-Site Interconnect, and Network Connectivity Center. Binding prices are on the official pricing page. Google cites up to 40% lower total cost of ownership versus customer-managed WAN solutions.
Is Cloud WAN available in the EU and which security partners exist?
Cloud WAN uses Google's global network with points of presence and regions in the EU, which makes EU data residency possible. The open partner ecosystem includes SD-WAN, SSE, and security vendors such as Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper, Palo Alto Networks, Netskope, and Broadcom/Symantec.
