10 Essential Facts About AWS Interconnect: Simplifying Multicloud and Last-Mile Connectivity

Managing network connections across multiple cloud providers and on-premises locations has long been a headache for IT teams. VPN tunnels, colocation facilities, and manual configurations often consume precious time and resources. AWS has now answered these challenges with the general availability of AWS Interconnect—a managed private connectivity service that simplifies hybrid and multicloud networking. In this article, we break down the ten key things you need to know about this new offering, from its two core capabilities to its built-in security and simple setup. Whether you're looking to connect your Amazon VPC to Google Cloud or Azure, or bring your branch offices onto a high-speed private link, AWS Interconnect promises to transform how you approach connectivity.

1. AWS Interconnect Is Now Generally Available

AWS Interconnect—formerly in preview—has reached general availability. This managed service allows you to establish private, high-speed connections between your Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) and other cloud providers, as well as to your own on-premises networks. The GA launch also introduces a new capability called AWS Interconnect – last mile, which simplifies the final leg of connectivity from branch offices and remote locations. Both offerings are designed to remove the complexity of managing physical infrastructure and third-party agreements, letting you focus on your applications.

2. It Solves the Multicloud Networking Challenge

Large enterprises often run workloads across multiple clouds—whether to leverage specialized services, meet data residency requirements, or accommodate teams that have standardized on different providers. Historically, connecting these environments required coordinating VPN tunnels, colocation facilities, and third-party network fabrics. This undifferentiated heavy lifting distracted networking teams from higher-value work. AWS Interconnect directly addresses this pain point by providing a turnkey, managed connectivity solution that works across cloud boundaries.

3. Two Capabilities: Multicloud and Last Mile

AWS Interconnect comes in two flavors. The first, AWS Interconnect – multicloud, connects your AWS environment directly to VPCs on other public clouds. The second, AWS Interconnect – last mile, links your AWS resources to your private on-premises networks—branch offices, data centers, and remote sites—using your existing network providers. Both are built on the same managed, fully automated principle, ensuring a consistent experience whether you're crossing cloud providers or spanning geographic distances.

4. Multicloud Connectivity Uses a Layer 3 Private Connection

With AWS Interconnect – multicloud, you get a private, managed Layer 3 connection between your AWS environment and other cloud providers. Traffic flows entirely over the AWS global backbone and the partner cloud’s private network—never over the public internet. This guarantees predictable latency, consistent throughput, and isolation from internet congestion. You don't need to manage any physical infrastructure; AWS handles the routing and provisioning behind the scenes.

5. Security Is Built In with MACsec Encryption

Every AWS Interconnect – multicloud connection uses IEEE 802.1AE MACsec encryption on the physical links between AWS routers and the partner cloud provider’s routers at the interconnection facilities. This encryption is enabled by default, so you don't need to configure it separately. However, note that each cloud provider manages encryption independently on its own backbone. You should review the encryption documentation for your specific deployment to verify it meets your security requirements. For many organizations, this hardware-level encryption adds a strong baseline of protection.

6. Last-Mile Connectivity Simplifies On-Premises Access

The new last-mile capability lets you establish high-speed, private connections to AWS from your branch offices, data centers, and remote locations through your existing network providers. Instead of managing multiple VPN tunnels or procuring dedicated circuits on your own, you can use your current provider's infrastructure to create a managed connection. AWS handles the provisioning and monitoring, dramatically reducing the operational burden on your networking team and enabling faster deployment of hybrid architectures.

7. Setup Is as Easy as a Few Clicks

You can configure resilient, end-to-end connectivity through the AWS Console in just a few clicks. Simply select your location, choose your partner or cloud provider, pick your preferred AWS Region, and specify your bandwidth requirements. AWS Interconnect takes care of the rest—discovering partners, configuring the virtual interfaces, and setting up routing. This eliminates the friction of manually negotiating with multiple providers and eliminates the complexity of manual network configurations, making multicloud and hybrid connectivity accessible to teams of any size.

8. Managed Service Reduces Undifferentiated Heavy Lifting

By offloading the management of physical connections, routing, and provider coordination to AWS, your networking team can focus on higher-value tasks like application performance, security policies, and architectural innovation. AWS Interconnect is a fully managed, turnkey experience that removes infrastructure complexity. It also includes automatic monitoring and fault detection, so you can quickly respond to any issues without needing deep expertise in each cloud provider's networking stack.

9. Supported Cloud Providers and Future Roadmap

At launch, AWS Interconnect – multicloud supports connections to Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) expected to follow later in 2026. This gives you a growing set of options to tie together your multicloud estate. As more providers join, you'll be able to centralize connectivity management within AWS while maintaining private, high-speed links to each partner cloud.

10. Getting Started with AWS Interconnect

To start using AWS Interconnect, log in to the AWS Console and navigate to the Interconnect section. You can order a new connection for either multicloud or last-mile, specifying your source and destination. The service is billed based on bandwidth and usage, with no upfront commitments required. For detailed setup guides, refer to the AWS documentation (jump to step 7 for console walkthrough) or contact your AWS account team. With AWS Interconnect, you can finally simplify your hybrid and multicloud networking.

In conclusion, AWS Interconnect marks a significant step forward in managed connectivity. By offering both multicloud and last-mile capabilities, it addresses two of the most persistent networking challenges for enterprises. The combination of private Layer 3 connections, built-in security, and a simple console-based setup means you can deploy resilient, high-speed links in hours instead of weeks. As multicloud adoption continues to grow, services like AWS Interconnect become essential for maintaining performance, security, and operational efficiency. Now is the perfect time to evaluate how this service can streamline your network architecture.