Cloud cybersecurity firm Barracuda Networks Inc. today launched a new software-defined wide-area network service for Microsoft Corp.’s Azure cloud.

Called Barracuda CloudGen WAN, the service is pitched as the first SD-WAN solution that runs inside Azure Virtual WAN Hubs. A virtual hub on Azure is a Microsoft-managed virtual network that enables connectivity from other networks with virtual VNet and gateways as optional components.

Barracuda said the network architecture replaces costly, inflexible network connectivity circuits, and the entire network can be dynamically sized to match current traffic workload, which can optimize network performance and minimize cost.

Barracuda’s CloudGen WAN has been designed to combine ease of use, full security and cloud-scalable SD-WAN connectivity to use the Microsoft Global Network as the WAN backbone instead of leased lines. Offered on a software-as-a-service basis deployed directly from the Azure Marketplace for as many regions needed, CloudGen WAN provides users access to their deployment via a single portal that covers all office locations and remote endpoints.

SD-WAN has grown in popularity alongside cloud deployments as more companies understand the importance of security on the cloud. A previous report from Barracuda found that SD-WAN is now being used by more than half of those who have added security to their public clouds because it can help overcome the top two security challenges organizations are facing when it comes to public cloud: lack of access control and backhauling traffic.

“With an all-in-one, secure SD-WAN solution natively built on the public cloud network, enterprises can finally make the shift to more public cloud deployments, both faster and more securely,” Hatem Naguib, chief operating officer at Barracuda, said in a statement. “We know this is the future of networking in the public cloud.”

Barracuda’s partnership with Microsoft is not new. In an interview with SiliconANGLE theCUBE in November, Barracuda Chief Executive Officer BJ Jenkins (pictured) noted that Microsoft is a very different company today. Barracuda CloudGen WAN is not the first security product for Microsoft Azure launched by the company. Previous products include a Cloud Application Protection Platform and the CloudGen Firewall.

Photo: SiliconANGLE