Google has launched a fully managed service called Cloud WAN, which uses its own backbone network to help support online services for businesses or governments.
To address the massive network traffic and coverage needs of enterprises and government agencies, Google announced Cloud WAN at its Google NEXT'25 conference. This fully managed enterprise backbone network boasts reliability and security, allowing businesses and government agencies to leverage Google's globally deployed backbone to build stable service platforms. Google stated that it has been continuously deploying network resources globally for the past 25 years, currently encompassing 202 Points of Presence (PoPs), over 200 million miles (approximately 321.87 kilometers) of fiber optic network, and submarine cables spanning the globe. It boasts a 99.99% reliability rate to ensure network service operation, supporting the massive data traffic behind Google's Gmail, YouTube, Google Search, and other services used daily by many. The newly introduced Cloud WAN fully managed service allows enterprises and government agencies to build more stable network services. Compared to traditional site-to-site connections via switches or the currently mainstream SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network), it significantly reduces management complexity and lowers information security risks. On the other hand, the rise of artificial intelligence technology has also driven the demand for greater network bandwidth. Coupled with the need for enterprises and governments to store data in different locations, Google anticipates that through its fully managed Cloud WAN service, it can leverage its globally distributed network architecture to provide more reliable connectivity resources and ensure the stable operation of enterprise and government network services. Architecturally, Cloud WAN primarily serves as a secondary connectivity network, connecting network services located in different regions and using different cloud platforms, or acting as an intermediary network linking different cloud platforms. Enterprises or entire governments can continue to use their existing network connectivity structures. For example, this year in Taiwan, reports emerged of damage to submarine cables, affecting external network connection speeds and even causing economic and commercial impacts, potentially creating "information silos." If Google's managed Cloud WAN service is used as a backup network architecture, network services can continue to operate normally even when the primary network infrastructure is down. According to Google's statistics, Cloud WAN offers 40% better data access performance compared to conventional network connectivity architectures, while reducing total cost of ownership by approximately 40% compared to self-hosted WAN solutions.