Australian-based global network-as-a-service provider Megaport has selected VAST Data’s AI Operating System as the data layer underpinning its expanding network, compute and storage platform, as the Australian infrastructure provider accelerates its push into AI services following the acquisition of Latitude.sh.
The agreement will see VAST provide enterprise data services across Megaport’s global network and Latitude’s bare-metal and GPU infrastructure, creating what the companies describe as a unified platform for deploying AI workloads across distributed, hybrid and multicloud environments.
The announcement comes as Megaport moves beyond its traditional network-as-a-service roots and seeks to establish itself as a broader infrastructure platform spanning connectivity, compute, storage and AI services. “Enterprises are no longer thinking about networking, compute and data as separate decisions,” said Michael van Rooyen, executive vice president of global innovation at Megaport.
“They want infrastructure that is automated, global and flexible enough to support what AI requires next. VAST gives us one software layer to support enterprise data services across both Megaport and Latitude.sh, allowing us to expand beyond connectivity into the services layer customers need to build and scale modern AI workloads, with fewer operational silos and a faster path from distributed infrastructure to production AI,” he said.
The partnership will integrate VAST’s data platform into Megaport’s network fabric, enabling customers to access and manage data consistently across on-premises infrastructure, public clouds, edge environments and third-party compute locations.
From connectivity provider to AI infrastructure platform
The VAST announcement is the latest step in a rapid expansion of Megaport’s service portfolio.
Last year, the company acquired Latitude.sh, adding bare-metal compute and GPU capabilities to its global network platform. More recently, Megaport announced plans to build what it describes as a globally distributed AI inference cloud spanning its footprint of more than 1,100 connected data centres across 31 countries.
The company has secured four AI infrastructure contracts worth approximately AUD 458.9 million and is investing around AUD 350 million to establish an on-demand GPU pool designed to support enterprise AI inference workloads. Earlier this month, Megaport also launched Megaport Storage, introducing block, file and object storage services integrated directly with its networking and compute offerings. The company described the move as completing the three core infrastructure pillars of compute, network and storage under a single platform.
The addition of VAST provides the software layer intended to tie those services together. For customers, the goal is to reduce the complexity of managing data across multiple environments as AI workloads become increasingly distributed. A key element of the deployment is VAST DataSpace, which provides a global namespace designed to allow data to be accessed consistently across on-premises infrastructure, public clouds, neoclouds and edge environments without creating additional silos or duplicate datasets.
“AI does not scale on infrastructure that is powerful in pieces but fragmented in practice,” said Phil Manez, vice president of strategic initiatives at VAST Data.
“The next era will be built on global fabrics that connect data, compute and services wherever customers need them. Megaport has built one of the most important connectivity platforms in the world, and with the VAST AI Operating System, that platform can become a data-aware foundation for production AI, helping infrastructure, compute and governed data operate together,” he said.