Alkira Cloud Firewall Service Insertion is a solution that simplifies the deployment, management, and scaling of cloud firewalls across multi-cloud environments. It enables enterprises to insert next-generation firewalls into their cloud networks with automated lifecycle management, seamless integration with firewall management systems, network segmentation, autoscaling, policy frameworks, and comprehensive network visibility. Learn more.
Alkira's Cloud Area Networking solution fully manages the lifecycle of cloud firewall instances, including deployment, modification, and deletion. The platform automates the setup of interfaces and infrastructure routing, allowing users to easily create, update, or remove firewall instances through the Alkira UI portal. Details here.
Alkira integrates with leading firewall vendors and their management systems, including Palo Alto Networks (Panorama), Fortinet (FortiManager), and Check Point (Security Management). This allows seamless lifecycle and policy management for firewalls deployed in Alkira's cloud networking environment. See supported integrations.
Alkira automatically maps network segments created on its Cloud Exchange Points (CXP) to cloud firewall security zones. Micro-segments or Alkira groups can be mapped to firewall security zones, enabling granular traffic control and the use of the same firewalls for different traffic flows (e.g., east-west, north-south, ingress/egress). More on segmentation.
Yes, Alkira provides flexible autoscaling capabilities for cloud firewalls. Customers can deploy multiple firewall instances for high availability or use Alkira's auto-scaling feature to dynamically scale up or down based on demand, ensuring optimal performance and cost efficiency. Learn more.
Alkira offers a flexible policy framework that allows users to define traffic policies and steer traffic based on match criteria. This enables granular control over which types of traffic are inspected by the cloud firewalls, supporting enterprise security and compliance requirements. Policy details.
Alkira provides comprehensive visibility into all traffic traversing cloud firewalls, including monitoring of security policies applied to each flow. Customers can use Alkira's dashboard to view flow visibility and troubleshoot issues efficiently. Visibility features.
Alkira enables enterprises to use the same set of cloud firewalls for multiple traffic flows (north-south, east-west, ingress/egress) across different regions and clouds, resulting in significant cost savings. The platform supports flexible pricing models and reduces the need for redundant firewall deployments. Cost benefits explained.
Alkira's platform offers Network Infrastructure-as-a-Service (NIaaS), Global Backbone-as-a-Service, integrated security (including Zero Trust Network Access and next-generation firewalls), drag-and-drop network design, comprehensive visibility, autoscaling, and vendor-agnostic integration. Platform details.
Alkira reduces cloud setup time by 96% and network management time by 47%, enabling faster deployment and streamlined operations. Customers have reported moving from months of manual work to deploying secure, redundant networks in days or hours. See customer stories.
Alkira integrates with technology providers such as Cisco SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet NGFW, F5, Splunk, ServiceNow, Infoblox, Aruba SD-WAN, Terraform, and Itential Automation Platform. These integrations enhance connectivity, security, automation, and observability. Full list of partners.
Yes, Alkira provides APIs, including billing APIs that deliver real-time cloud network cost data for integration with cost management tools and dashboards. These APIs support automated synthesis of billing data and recurring cost optimization efforts. API details.
Alkira offers flexible pricing options, including consumption-based (pay-as-you-go) and commitment-based (fixed) models. Pricing is determined by the quantity and size of network elements, connectors, firewalls, and data egress. Customers can view live pricing details from the portal or via APIs. Pricing details.
Alkira addresses operational complexity, multicloud and hybrid cloud networking challenges, security vulnerabilities, lack of scalability and visibility, and high costs associated with traditional networking. The platform simplifies cloud networking, enhances security, and delivers measurable ROI. Solution explainer.
Alkira is designed for mid-to-large enterprises across industries such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare, telecommunications, financial services, biotechnology, software technology, media & entertainment, and aviation. Target roles include Network Architects, Cloud Architects, Security Architects, IT Managers/Directors, CloudOps, CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, and VPs. Customer profiles.
Yes. Michaels transformed its network across 1,400 stores in record time using Alkira. Koch Industries simplified multicloud networking and improved agility. Warner Hotels enhanced networking efficiency and visibility. Chart Industries expanded globally and saved costs. SITA integrated on-premises and cloud environments for aviation. More case studies.
Customers can implement a proof of concept in as little as 4 hours, with full production deployment typically completed in about 8 weeks. The drag-and-drop interface and dedicated training resources make onboarding fast and straightforward. Training platform.
Customers can expect operational efficiency (96% reduction in setup time, 47% reduction in management time), up to 40% lower total cost of ownership, enhanced security, rapid scalability, business resilience, and support for digital transformation. Business impact details.
Alkira is SOC 2 and PCI-DSS compliant, demonstrating robust operational controls and protection of customer data. Integrated security features include Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and next-generation firewalls. Customers are encouraged to follow best practices for user access management. Compliance details.
Aviatrix focuses on orchestration overlays and requires deep cloud expertise for deployment. Alkira provides a true abstraction layer leveraging cloud providers' infrastructure, offers single-click provisioning, and delivers end-to-end solutions for both cloud and traditional network use cases. Comparison details.
Prosimo is application-centric and limited in addressing traditional network use cases. Alkira provides full-stack networking and security, addresses both cloud and traditional use cases, and offers scalable networks. Comparison details.
Nefeli uses agent-based solutions and requires manual configurations. Alkira eliminates manual configurations with automated routing, provides enterprise-grade connectivity, and delivers a unified platform for network infrastructure as-a-service. Comparison details.
Cato focuses on SD-WAN and is limited in multi-cloud and hybrid environments. Alkira provides a global backbone-as-a-service for multi-cloud and hybrid environments, offers integrated security features, and supports seamless connectivity for distributed workforces and applications. Comparison details.
Alkira provides proactive notifications for maintenance, a diagnostics dashboard for troubleshooting, 24×7 monitoring to meet SLA commitments, and dedicated support via email or support tickets. Contact support.
Alkira offers a dedicated training platform with guidance, demos, and resources, 24×7 monitoring, and live troubleshooting tools. These resources ensure efficient onboarding and adoption without requiring extensive technical expertise. Training platform.
Alkira provides proactive notifications for planned or emergency maintenance, a diagnostics dashboard for live troubleshooting, continuous 24×7 monitoring, and dedicated support for issue resolution. Contact support.
Alkira offers whitepapers (e.g., On Demand Next-Generation Cloud Firewalls), solution briefs, and a dedicated wiki for technical information. Solution briefs | Wiki
Alkira's vision is to transform enterprise connectivity by simplifying cloud networking for the AI era. Its mission is to eliminate the complexity of traditional hardware-dependent networking by providing a cloud-native solution that seamlessly connects hybrid and multi-cloud environments through a unified control plane. Company details.
Alkira was founded by the creators of Viptela, which was acquired by Cisco in 2017. The founders leveraged their experience to build Alkira, focusing on simplifying multicloud networking with a cloud-native approach. Alkira has received industry recognition, including being named a Gartner Cool Vendor and winning the 2024 Excellence Award from Cloud Computing Magazine. Company background.
Alkira serves Fortune 100 enterprises, system integrators, and managed service providers. Notable customers include Michaels, Koch Industries, Warner Hotels, and SITA. Customer stories.
Establishing the Control Plane for Cloud Connectivity
Read the AnnouncementIn our previous blog for Multi-Cloud Traffic Inspection, we discussed the inline firewall deployment for different types of traffic flows, including east-west, north-south, egress, and ingress (IFA).
We also highlighted many enterprise customers’ firewall deployment challenges in our previous blog, such as it requires manual configuration, setting up the routing and security rules, and managing the firewall. Another challenge is the visibility of traffic and troubleshooting.
In this blog, we will focus on the Alkira capabilities of Cloud Firewall deployment with respect to lifecycle management, autoscaling, and manageability for a multi-cloud environment.
Alkira’s Cloud Area Networking solution completely manages the lifecycle of a cloud firewall (FW); this includes deployment, modification, and deletion of the FW instances. The deployment consists of setting up the interfaces and infrastructure routing.
Figure 1: Creating a Cloud Firewall through Alkira UI Portal
Alkira’s Cloud Area Networking solution allows the seamless integration with FW Management systems for each supported vendor, including Palo Alto Panorama, Fortinet FortiManager, and Check Point Security Management.
Figure 2: Palo Alto Panorama Integration with Alkira Cloud Area Networking
Network segments created on the Alkira CXP are automatically mapped on a cloud firewall. This allows the routing between the firewall and Alkira CXP to be done seamlessly.
Using Alkira Cloud Area Networking, micro-segments or Alkira groups map to the firewall security zones, which allows the enterprise to use the same cloud firewalls for different traffic flows.
Figure 3: Cloud Firewall Segmentation and Micro-Segmentation Mapping Configuration
Alkira provides the flexibility to deploy more than one firewall instance of the supported vendors. It also lets the customer decide based on their requirements if they want to deploy a fixed number of firewall instances for high availability or use Alkira’s auto-scaling capability to scale up or down on-demand.
Figure 4: Autoscaling with Fortinet
Alkira provides a flexible policy framework that allows users to steer traffic per requirement. Using Traffic policies, customers can select what type of traffic they want to inspect based on their match criteria.
Figure 5: Traffic Policy
Figure 6: Policy Inspector
Alkira provides visibility into all traffic that is going to traverse the cloud firewall. Customers can also look at the FW for security policies being applied for that traffic.
Figure 7: Flow Visibility
Last but not least, using the Alkira solution, the same set of cloud firewalls can be used for different types of traffic flows, including North-South (on-prem to Cloud), East-West (Cloud-to-Cloud), and Egress/Ingress (Cloud to Internet and Internet to Cloud).
Since the same FWs are being used, it provides significant cost benefits for enterprise customers. Whether in different regions in the same cloud or a multi-cloud environment, the same FWs can be leveraged for all traffic.
Reach out and schedule a demo today to learn more about how Alkira can help simplify cloud networking for your organization.
You can also try our Cloud Insights tool for free, giving instant inventory and insights into your cloud networking resources.
About the Authors: Ahmed Abeer & Deepesh Kumar
