Azure ExpressRoute enables clients to establish secure connections between their on-premises infrastructure and Azure data centers. It offers a reliable and fast connection to Azure services, unlike using a public internet connection. ExpressRoute connections provide greater stability, faster speeds, and lower latencies compared to regular internet connections. You can use Layer 2 (Ethernet) or Layer 3 (IP) connections with ExpressRoute, and choose between dedicated or shared connections.

ExpressRoute connections can be used to connect to a variety of Azure services, including:

• Azure Virtual Machines
• Azure Storage
• Azure SQL Database
• Azure Dynamics 365
• Azure Power Platform
• Azure Cognitive Services
• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Azure Arc

There are two type of ExpressRoute:

ExpressRoute circuits: private connections to Azure provided by an ExpressRoute partner through their network. ExpressRoute circuits are provisioned and managed through the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, or Azure CLI

Azure ExpressRoute Direct : ExpressRoute Direct allows customers to create a direct, private connection to Azure data centers via dedicated fiber connections. ExpressRoute Direct allows you to create connections to Azure at a capacity of 100 Gbps.

By creating an ExpressRoute connection, customers can benefit from increased security and compliance by keeping their data on-premises and avoiding traversing the public internet. It also enables organizations to use Azure services like Office 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform with improved performance and security.

Additionally ExpressRoute allows Multi-Cloud and Hybrid setups. It can be used as a way to establish a connection between an on-premises data center and other cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

The main benefits of using Azure ExpressRoute are:

• Increased security: By using a private connection instead of the public internet, ExpressRoute can help to improve the security of data in transit and reduce the risk of data breaches.
• Improved performance: ExpressRoute connections use dedicated, high-bandwidth circuits that can provide improved performance and lower latency compared to connections over the public internet.
• Greater reliability: ExpressRoute connections are backed by service level agreements (SLAs) that guarantee a certain level of availability, which can be especially important for mission-critical applications.
• More control: Customers can configure and manage their ExpressRoute connections using Azure portal, Azure PowerShell or Azure CLI.
• Compliance: ExpressRoute allows customers to comply with regulations that may require certain types of data to be kept within specific geographic boundaries.