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GTT Communications: Secure Cloud Networking & Managed SD-WAN

GTT provides global Tier 1 IP networking and managed SD-WAN solutions for multinational enterprises, delivering secure, high-performance cloud connectivity.

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Overview

GTT Communications, Inc. is a leading global managed network and security services provider headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company specializes in providing multinational enterprises with the connectivity required to link their people across the globe and to every application in the cloud. GTT serves a diverse range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, retail, and media, catering specifically to organizations that require high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity and complex international networking.

The core of GTT’s offering is its Tier 1 global IP network, which is consistently ranked among the top five in the world. This infrastructure supports a comprehensive suite of services, including:

  • Managed Networking: SD-WAN, Enterprise Voice (SIP Trunking and Microsoft Teams integration), and Wide Area Networking (MPLS and VPLS).
  • Internet Services: Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) and broadband.
  • Security Services: SASE, Managed Firewall, and DDoS Mitigation.

GTT has evolved through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic growth, building a massive footprint that spans six continents. Over its history, the company has transitioned from a pure-play bandwidth provider to a sophisticated managed services organization. This shift reflects the market's move toward software-defined architectures and the increasing importance of secure, direct cloud on-ramps. Today, GTT focuses on simplifying the digital transformation journey for its clients by consolidating fragmented global communications into a single, managed, and secure environment. Their business focus remains steadfast on delivering high-performance networking solutions that are agile enough to meet the demands of the modern, cloud-centric enterprise.

Positioning

GTT positions itself as the premier alternative to traditional telecommunications incumbents. Their market strategy is built on the "Power of Three": a global Tier 1 IP network, a comprehensive suite of managed services, and a client-centric service experience. They target the "mid-to-large enterprise" segment—companies that are too large for simple regional providers but find the global legacy carriers too slow and difficult to manage.

In their messaging, GTT emphasizes the concept of "Cloud Networking," positioning themselves as the essential bridge between the enterprise edge and the multi-cloud environment. They differentiate from competitors like AT&T, Verizon, or Orange by highlighting their agility and the lack of legacy "baggage." While incumbents often struggle with disparate systems and rigid service contracts, GTT markets itself as a modern, unified partner that can provide global reach without the bureaucratic friction.

Their brand positioning is anchored in the promise of "connecting people to any application in the world." By focusing on managed SD-WAN and SASE, GTT aligns its brand with the future of networking—moving away from hardware-centric models toward software-defined, secure, and flexible architectures. This positioning allows them to compete effectively by offering the scale of a global carrier with the responsiveness of a specialized managed service provider.

Differentiation

The primary technical differentiator for GTT is its ownership and operation of one of the world’s largest Tier 1 global IP backbones. This infrastructure allows GTT to carry traffic directly across continents without relying on third-party transit providers, significantly reducing latency and increasing security. Their product suite is built around a "Cloud Networking" vision, where the network is designed specifically to optimize the performance of SaaS and IaaS applications.

Key product advantages include:

  • Tier 1 IP Backbone: Ranked as one of the top internet backbones globally, ensuring superior reach and performance for data-intensive applications.
  • Managed SD-WAN Agnostic Approach: GTT offers a variety of industry-leading SD-WAN technologies (including partnerships with VMware and Fortinet), allowing clients to choose the hardware that fits their specific security and performance needs rather than being locked into a single vendor.
  • Unified Portal (EtherVision): Their proprietary management platform provides a single pane of glass for monitoring network performance, managing tickets, and viewing billing across a global footprint, simplifying the management of complex international deployments.
  • Global Managed Security: By integrating advanced security features—such as SASE (Secure Access Service Edge)—directly into the network fabric, GTT provides a seamless transition from traditional networking to a zero-trust architecture.
  • Extensive Global Reach: With over 600 Points of Presence (PoPs) and relationships with thousands of regional access providers, they offer "last-mile" connectivity in over 140 countries, providing a truly global footprint with local performance.

Ideal Customer Profile

The ideal GTT customer is a mid-to-large enterprise or service provider with a significant international presence. They typically operate in industries like manufacturing, finance, retail, or technology where uptime is mission-critical.

  • Company Size: $500M+ in revenue (though mid-market firms with high technical needs are also a fit).
  • Geographic Scope: Multi-regional or global (e.g., offices in North America, EMEA, and APAC).
  • Technical Maturity: High; looking to move away from managing dozens of local ISPs toward a consolidated managed service provider.
  • Budget: Mid-to-high; they prioritize network performance and global reach over the absolute lowest-cost commodity internet.

Best Fit

  1. Global Enterprises with Distributed Footprints: GTT is a premier choice for organizations operating across multiple continents that require a single partner to manage complex international networking and transit.
  2. Cloud-First Organizations: Companies migrating heavy workloads to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud benefit from GTT’s specialized Cloud Connect services and high-performance backbone.
  3. SD-WAN Transformation Projects: Organizations looking to move away from legacy MPLS to a more agile, software-defined architecture while maintaining carrier-grade reliability.
  4. Bandwidth-Intensive Operations: Ideal for content providers, ISPs, and financial institutions that require massive throughput and low-latency IP transit (Tier 1 IP network).

Offerings

  • Managed SD-WAN: Flexible, software-defined networking using top-tier vendor technology (VMware, Fortinet, Silver Peak).
  • Tier 1 IP Transit: High-performance internet backbone connectivity for ISPs, content providers, and large enterprises.
  • SASE (Secure Access Service Edge): Converged networking and security (FWaaS, ZTNA) delivered via the cloud.
  • Dedicated Internet Access (DIA): Symmetric, high-speed internet with guaranteed SLAs.
  • Global Voice: SIP Trunking and Cloud UC (Microsoft Teams integration) across a global footprint.
  • Optical Networking: High-capacity Wavelength and Private Line services for data center interconnects.

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Buying Guide: GTT

Everything you need to evaluate GTT— from features and pricing to implementation and security.

Introduction

Welcome to the Enterprise Evaluation Guide for GTT. As a leading global Tier 1 IP service provider, GTT specializes in connecting people across organizations, around the world, and to every application in the cloud. This guide is designed to help IT leaders navigate GTT’s extensive portfolio of managed networking, security, and communication services.

In an era where the corporate perimeter has dissolved into the cloud, GTT offers a unique proposition: a massive global Tier 1 backbone combined with a comprehensive suite of managed SD-WAN and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) solutions. By the end of this guide, you will understand GTT’s core strengths, how their implementation process works, and whether their "Tier 1" status aligns with your organization’s global connectivity and digital transformation goals.

Key Features

  • Tier 1 Global IP Backbone: GTT owns and operates one of the world's largest Tier 1 IP networks, ensuring high-speed, low-latency connectivity without relying on third-party transit for core traffic.
  • Managed SD-WAN: A fully managed service that optimizes application performance by dynamically routing traffic over multiple connection types (MPLS, Internet, LTE/5G).
  • Secure Access Service Edge (SASE): Integrates SD-WAN with cloud-native security features including FWaaS, SWG, ZTNA, and CASB to protect distributed workforces.
  • Global Managed Services: Comprehensive 'white-glove' management of hardware, local access procurement in 140+ countries, and 24/7 proactive monitoring.
  • Cloud Connect: Private, low-latency connections to major SaaS and IaaS providers, bypassing the public internet for enhanced security and predictable performance.
  • SIP Trunking & Unified Communications: Global voice services that consolidate disparate legacy systems into a single, scalable IP-based platform.
  • EtherVision Portal: A centralized management interface providing real-time visibility into network performance, ticketing, and billing across all global assets.

Use Cases

  1. Global Retail Expansion: A multinational retailer uses GTT to deploy managed SD-WAN across 500+ locations, consolidating local internet providers into one bill and ensuring PCI-compliant connectivity for POS systems.
  2. Financial Services Latency Reduction: A high-frequency trading firm leverages GTT’s Tier 1 backbone and private optical networking to reduce millisecond latency between global financial hubs in London, New York, and Tokyo.
  3. Manufacturing Cloud Migration: A global manufacturer uses GTT Cloud Connect to link their international factories directly to Azure, ensuring that ERP applications remain performant and secure despite heavy data synchronization.
  4. Hybrid Workforce Security: A professional services firm implements GTT SASE to provide secure, high-performance remote access to 10,000 employees, replacing legacy VPNs with a Zero Trust architecture.

Pricing Models

GTT typically utilizes a contractual, monthly recurring charge (MRC) model tailored to specific enterprise needs.

  1. Bandwidth-Based Pricing: For IP Transit and Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), costs are driven by committed data rates (CDR) and burstability.
  2. Per-Site Fees: For SD-WAN and MPLS, pricing is calculated per location based on the required throughput, hardware specs, and local loop costs.
  3. Managed Service Tiers: Pricing varies based on the level of management (e.g., co-managed vs. fully managed).
  4. Usage-Based Voice: SIP Trunking often involves a mix of per-channel fees and consumption-based calling rates. Additional costs often include one-time installation fees (NRC) and specialized security licensing for SASE components.

Technical Requirements

  1. Edge Hardware: Deployment of GTT-managed routers or SD-WAN appliances (e.g., VMware, Fortinet) at each branch or data center.
  2. Local Access: Availability of fiber, copper, or wireless local loops (which GTT can procure on the customer's behalf).
  3. Environment: Standard rack space, power (AC/DC), and cooling for on-premise equipment.
  4. Browser Compatibility: Modern web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) for accessing the EtherVision management portal.
  5. Protocol Support: Compatibility with BGP is essential for organizations utilizing GTT’s Tier 1 IP Transit services.

Business Requirements

  1. Network Strategy Alignment: Organizations must have a clear roadmap for their transition from legacy architectures (like MPLS) to hybrid or SD-WAN models.
  2. Centralized IT Governance: To maximize GTT's portal capabilities, businesses should have a centralized team capable of managing global assets through a single pane of glass.
  3. Change Management: Implementing SD-WAN or managed security services requires internal alignment between networking, security, and cloud teams.
  4. Project Management Resource: While GTT provides implementation support, an internal project lead is recommended to coordinate local site access and hardware installation across global offices.

Implementation Timeline

  1. Discovery & Design (2–4 Weeks): Technical audit of existing infrastructure, site surveys, and finalization of network topology.
  2. Procurement & Provisioning (4–12 Weeks): Lead times vary significantly by region. Standard broadband/DIA in urban areas is faster; international private lines or remote regions may take longer.
  3. Hardware Deployment (2–4 Weeks): Shipping and on-site installation of SD-WAN edge devices or routers.
  4. Configuration & Testing (1–2 Weeks): Routing protocol validation, failover testing, and security policy application.
  5. Go-Live & Transition: Phased migration of traffic to the new backbone. Note: Total global rollouts typically span 3 to 6 months depending on the number of sites and local access availability.

Support Options

  • 24/7/365 Global NOCs: Multiple Network Operations Centers located across the globe (Americas, Europe, Asia) providing "follow-the-sun" support.
  • Tiered Support Levels: Standard enterprise support with defined SLAs for uptime (often 99.9% to 99.99%) and Time to Repair (TTR).
  • Technical Account Managers (TAM): Available for premium enterprise accounts to provide strategic guidance and performance reviews.
  • EtherVision Portal: Self-service tools for real-time monitoring, circuit status, and automated ticketing.
  • Professional Services: Expert consulting for network design, migration planning, and security audits.

Integration Requirements

  1. Cloud Service Providers: Direct, private interconnects with AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, and IBM Cloud.
  2. SD-WAN Technology Partners: Deep integration with industry leaders like VMware (Velocloud), Fortinet, and Silver Peak.
  3. API Access: EtherVision portal provides APIs for integrating network performance data and billing into internal ERP or ITSM tools (like ServiceNow).
  4. Interoperability: Support for standard routing protocols (BGP, OSPF) to ensure seamless integration with existing on-premise hardware and third-party data centers.

Security & Compliance

  • Network Security: DDoS mitigation services built directly into the Tier 1 backbone to scrub malicious traffic before it reaches the customer.
  • SASE Framework: Implementation of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Secure Web Gateways (SWG).
  • Compliance: GTT maintains a robust compliance posture, including SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and HIPAA compliance capabilities for specific healthcare configurations.
  • Data Residency: Options for localized data routing to comply with GDPR and other regional data sovereignty laws.
  • Physical Security: Data centers and PoPs (Points of Presence) feature multi-factor authentication, biometric access, and 24/7 surveillance.

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