Megaport has selected VAST Data to provide the data layer for its global network and compute platform. The agreement supports Megaport's move into compute and GPU services following its AUD $425 million acquisition of Latitude.sh.
The deal combines Megaport's programmable connectivity across more than 1,100 data centres, Latitude.sh's automated bare-metal compute and GPU services, and VAST's data software for AI workloads. The combined platform is aimed at customers running AI across distributed, hybrid and multicloud environments.
Megaport built its business around on-demand network connectivity, but the Latitude.sh acquisition broadened its offer into infrastructure services beyond networking. The latest agreement adds a data management layer designed to let customers use compute, storage and connectivity within a single operating environment.
That reflects a broader shift in the AI market as companies move from pilot projects to production systems spread across multiple regions and platforms. In that environment, businesses often face fragmented infrastructure, with networking, compute and data managed through separate tools and suppliers.
The new arrangement is intended to reduce that fragmentation. Megaport plans to use VAST software across both its own platform and Latitude.sh's infrastructure, giving customers a consistent way to access and manage data wherever workloads run.
One central element is VAST DataSpace, which provides a global namespace across locations. This is intended to let customers manage data across on-premises systems, public clouds, neoclouds and edge sites without creating separate silos or multiple copies.
For Megaport, the agreement marks another step in repositioning the business around a broader infrastructure offering tied to AI demand. Founded by Bevan Slattery, the company has long focused on private, software-defined connectivity between data centres, cloud providers and enterprise sites.
Its expansion into compute and GPU services comes as demand for AI infrastructure grows and businesses seek alternatives to relying on a single cloud provider. Distributed AI deployments can require access to specialised compute in different jurisdictions, while data governance rules may determine where workloads and information must remain.
Those pressures are creating demand for platforms that more closely combine network, compute and data services. Rather than treating each layer as a separate purchasing and operational decision, customers are increasingly looking for a more unified model.
Michael van Rooyen, Executive Vice President, Global Innovation at Megaport, said that shift is reshaping customer requirements.
"Enterprises are no longer thinking about networking, compute and data as separate decisions. 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."
Market shift
Competition in AI infrastructure has intensified as networking groups, cloud providers and specialist compute firms seek a larger share of spending tied to AI deployment. GPU access has become a strategic part of that market, while data orchestration has grown in importance because AI systems often depend on large volumes of information spread across different environments.
VAST has positioned its software as a way to unify those data services. By supplying the data layer to Megaport's expanded platform, it gains access to a larger installed base of network-connected enterprise customers and a route into deployments spanning multiple data centres and cloud environments.
Phil Manez, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at VAST Data, described the rationale from VAST's perspective.
"AI does not scale on infrastructure that is powerful in pieces but fragmented in practice. 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."
The agreement underscores how infrastructure providers are trying to capture a larger share of enterprise AI spending by linking services once sold separately. For Megaport, the task now is to turn a network business expanded by acquisition into a broader platform for customers running AI across multiple locations and systems.