Amazon Locks Up Data With Cloud VPN

SEATTLE, Wash. (TheStreet) -- With interest in cloud computing growing, Internet giant Amazon(AMZN Quote) is attempting to make the technology more secure by offering VPN-based access to its services.

Cloud services, which offer compute power or data storage via the Internet, have become one of the hottest parts of the tech sector, with companies such as Amazon, Microsoft(MSFT Quote) and IBM(IBM Quote) all pushing the technology as a way for firms to avoid the upfront costs of hardware and software.

There are, however, some question marks still hanging over the cloud concept. Security and loss of data control, for example, are often cited as the biggest cloud issues.

Amazon claims to have the answer to these concerns, with its Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) offering. By using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to link users to the company's cloud offerings, the Seattle-based firm says that it can offer a secure bridge to customers' data.

Initially offered for Amazon's EC2 cloud computing offering, Amazon will eventually extend VPC to other Web services such as its S3 storage cloud.

"VPC shows that Amazon wants to dominate cloud infrastructure services, not only for Web-facing applications and IT services for start-ups, but also for enterprise cloud computing," wrote Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at TBR, in a note released Wednesday. "This move is an imminent threat to IT vendors currently building up cloud services portfolios as rapidly as they can."

The VPN-based cloud, however, may also provide a boost to Amazon's partners such as BMC(BMC Quote) and CA(CA Quote), whose systems management software can manage applications in the cloud. VPN giant Citrix(CTXS Quote) has also thrown its weight behind VPC, clearly aiming to exploit users' growing demand for cloud services.