At PTC 2026 in Honolulu, we introduced Unified Connection Experience (UCE), a new digital workflow designed to simplify and accelerate data center interconnection across a multi-provider ecosystem.
As enterprises increasingly build hybrid and distributed architectures across multiple data center platforms, interconnection has traditionally involved fragmented design processes, multiple management portals, and manual, offline coordination to complete end-to-end virtual circuits. These steps often extend deployment timelines from days to weeks.
UCE addresses this challenge by bringing design, provisioning, and activation into a single, online, self-service workflow, dramatically reducing complexity and deployment times.
Unified Connection Experience – fast, online, self-service
With UCE, customers can now deploy hybrid data center connections in approximately 30 minutes, compared to the traditional 1–2 week provisioning cycle.
For example, connecting a data center at Global Switch to Equinix TY9 through Zenlayer previously required upfront research, manual coordination, and offline provisioning. With UCE, the process is fully digital:
- Instant design and compatibility validation
Customers can validate port mapping, circuit availability, and high-availability designs directly through Zenlayer and Equinix consoles. - Online purchase and activation via zenConsole
Zenlayer ports and Private Connect links—such as Zenlayer @ Global Switch → Zenlayer–Equinix NNI @ SG1—can be provisioned instantly. - Automatic NNI token generation
zenConsole automatically generates the required Zenlayer–Equinix Fabric NNI token, eliminating manual requests and back-and-forth coordination. - Seamless completion on Equinix Fabric
Customers activate their Equinix Fabric port and create the virtual connection through the Equinix Fabric portal to complete the end-to-end path, such as Equinix TY9 → Zenlayer–Equinix NNI @ SG1. - On-demand bandwidth scaling
Both Zenlayer and Equinix now support fully online bandwidth adjustments, with no offline orders required.
The result is a clean, digital-first interconnection experience that reduces operational friction, accelerates deployment, and minimizes configuration risk.
Why it matters for AI and distributed cloud architectures
As AI workloads and distributed cloud architectures continue to expand across regions and providers, enterprises need interconnections that operate with the same speed and agility as modern compute platforms.
UCE enables interconnection to function more like cloud infrastructure—designed, deployed, and scaled on demand.
For organizations supporting latency-sensitive AI inference, global SaaS platforms, or multi-region customer experiences, UCE delivers:
- Faster deployment cycles
- Greater operational consistency across providers
- Reduced risk of configuration mismatch
- A unified, modern provisioning experience
What’s next: Integrated Fabric View
Looking ahead, we’re collaborating with Equinix on the next phase of integration: Integrated Fabric View.
This upcoming enhancement will allow customers to:
- View Zenlayer- and Equinix-supported points of presence directly within Equinix Fabric
- Purchase ports for both Equinix and non-Equinix endpoints through a single interface
- Order true end-to-end virtual circuits without switching platforms
Integrated Fabric View further reduces operational steps and moves the industry closer to a one-pane-of-glass interconnection experience.
Building a more unified global interconnection model
PTC has long been a forum where major shifts in global connectivity take shape. With the introduction of UCE, we’re continuing to evolve our global infrastructure to meet the needs of distributed cloud and AI-driven architectures.
UCE is available today, providing customers with an immediate upgrade in how they deploy and manage hybrid data center connections. Integrated Fabric View will follow, extending this simplicity even further.
Step by step, we’re building a more unified global interconnection model, one that enables customers to deploy anywhere, connect with confidence, and scale with ease.
