DENVER, Dec. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Businesses worldwide are looking to improve how they manage their data to enhance performance of data-intensive applications. To help these businesses access data residing anywhere in the world as if it were local, Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) has introduced Data Access Accelerator. This managed service, which runs on the Lumen Platform, allows for unstructured, file-based data to be acquired and processed from different locations. Now businesses can experience improved productivity with near real-time file access regardless of location, spend less time moving files, and devote more time to gaining valuable insight from their data. It is another way Lumen is furthering human progress through technology.

“Business success today means being able to acquire, analyze and act on data anywhere, from the cloud to the distributed network edge,” said David Shacochis, vice president of enterprise technology and field CTO for Lumen Technologies. “With Lumen Data Access Accelerator, we give organizations access to their data across secure networks, so files stored thousands of miles away load as if they were stored locally. This solution helps them take advantage of the data-intensive applications of the 4^th Industrial Revolution and can be used in combination with the Lumen global edge compute platform.”

Lumen^® Data Access Accelerator offers organizations the following benefits:

• Accelerated time-to-value from data with the ability to make high-performance connections to geographically dispersed, file-based data wherever it resides, without copying or moving first.
• Enhanced user productivity from near real-time access to files and expanding how those files can be used and where they can be processed and manipulated.
• Adaptable infrastructure that can adjust to changing business needs, minimizing reliance on IT to build new infrastructure for data storage and transfer.
• Strengthened data integrity and security from executing on files at the point of origin, instead of creating duplicate copies.
• Maximize competitiveness by obtaining value from data faster than those who struggle with data replication.
• Simplified data management lifecycle with a solution fully managed and monitored by Lumen.

“Businesses are struggling to turn unstructured data into business value, because it is often stored in disparate environments and locations, far from the analytics tools, applications and users that need it,” said Lynda Stadtmueller, research vice president, network, data center & cloud, Frost & Sullivan. “Lumen’s new Data Access Accelerator will streamline and speed the flow of this unstructured data, allowing users and machines to access it as if it were local. As a fully managed service, Lumen Data Access Accelerator simplifies data management, enabling organizations to maximize the value of their data.”

Additional Resources

• For more information on Lumen Data Access Accelerator, visit: https://www.lumen.com/en-us/hybrid-it-cloud/data-access-accelerator.html

MONROE, La., Feb. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — As businesses move enterprise workloads to the Edge and increasingly use multi-cloud environments, seamless integration of networking and cloud is paramount to optimize performance. To help customers better connect, migrate, manage and optimize their Microsoft Azure environments, CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) has joined the Networking Managed Service Provider (MSP) Program for Microsoft Azure. CenturyLink can now provide comprehensive network and consultation services around Azure services to make it easier for customers to connect and build cloud solutions.

“Our customers need comprehensive support as they deploy an increasing array of applications in cloud environments like Microsoft Azure,” stated Paul Savill, senior vice president, enterprise product and services, CenturyLink. “As an Azure Networking MSP partner with a global fiber footprint, we have the scale, reach and expertise to deliver integrated Azure cloud and hybrid networking solutions across the world and at the Edge.”

With these consultation services, CenturyLink is leveraging its combined expertise as a networking provider and IT services consultant to offer the enterprise a tailored and seamless customer experience around Azure’s network products and services. CenturyLink’s expansive global fiber network and service capabilities can help customers optimize application performance, lower cost and ensure security. CenturyLink and Microsoft also recently reached an agreement for CenturyLink to provide high performance network connections to Azure locations.

“We welcome CenturyLink to our Networking Managed Service Provider Program,” said Ross Ortega, partner program manager, Microsoft Azure Networking at Microsoft Corp. “Azure customers can now look to CenturyLink to build cloud solutions with high performance and predictable networking and security.”

Key Facts:

• CenturyLink is a Microsoft Gold Partner.
• CenturyLink enables real-time creation and deletion of network connections to Azure and Azure Government via its Cloud Connect Dynamic Connections service.
• CenturyLink’s network capabilities include approximately 450,000 route miles of fiber, with approximately 170,000 on-net buildings and connectivity to more than 2,200 public and private data centers across the globe.

Additional Resources

• For more information on CenturyLink’s hybrid cloud and IT solutions, visit: https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud.html

BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Dec. 19, 2019 – CenturyLink Colombia S.A., a subsidiary of CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL), received the ISO 20000-1:2011 service management system compliance certificate for services provided in its data center in Bogotá, Colombia.

The certification covers the managing of telecommunications networks for CenturyLink´s customers in the Network Management Operation Center (NMOC) located in Colombia.

Implementing this international certification standard which mandates strict IT policies, helps CenturyLink achieve greater positioning within the telecommunications market, ensuring that its processes have specific mechanisms to demonstrate that IT services are more reliable to guarantee faster identification of problems, reduce the number of incidents, strengthen the ability to treat them and improve customer satisfaction.

This management system is a great differentiator and generates the credibility of the company demonstrating that the efficiency and scalability of the processes are assured. Likewise, it also allows CenturyLink to improve services and optimize internal management systems, making the operation more efficient and profitable.

“The ISO 20000 is an internationally recognized standard that helps ensure best practices in IT services management,” said Gabriel del Campo, vice president, data center, cloud and security for CenturyLink Latin America. “The certification recognizes CenturyLink’s commitment to providing high-quality services aligned to the business needs of our customers, allowing them to focus on the success of their businesses.”

Examples of ISO 20000-1 requirements implemented:

• Incident Management, which restores the normal operation of the services as soon as possible and minimizing the impacts on the business operation.
• Problem Management, which analyzes the cause of the incidents that have occurred in the IT infrastructure, looking for workaround or definitive solutions, avoiding their recurrence or minimizing the impact.
• Change Management ensures that standardized methods and procedures are adopted in all changes in the IT infrastructure, in order to support the demands of the business without impacting the services.

Key Facts:

• CenturyLink operates more than 350 data centers worldwide, including 18 in Latin America, which host both CenturyLink’s and customers’ IT environments.
• CenturyLink’s data centers in Latin America received several certifications, including the Uptime Institute’s Tier III, SAP Hosting, SAP HANA, SAP Cloud and Infrastructure Partner,  ISO/IEC 9001, 20000, 27001, 27017 and PCI-DSS, reflecting its commitment to maintain the high level of quality established by international standards for data center management.
• CenturyLink’s data centers host both CenturyLink’s and customers’ environments with a team of specialized technicians managing the environments.
• CenturyLink regularly measures and improves its data center and security services. An important part of the maintenance process includes updating and renewing the certification of its installations, the foundation for its strict information security policies, for traditional and cloud services.
• CenturyLink’s global data center footprint has direct connectivity to its more than 720,000 kilometers (450,000 miles) of fiber network and metro market reach, serving customers around the world.

About the Certification:

• The ISO 20000-1:2011 is a service management system (SMS) standard that specifies requirements for the service provider to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and improve an SMS. The requirements include the design, transition, delivery and improvement of services to fulfill agreed service requirements.
• Valid for a period of three years, the certification was approved after an extensive audit of data center processes and infrastructure, conducted by TÜV Rheinland, a provider of technical, safety and certification services.
• TÜV Rheinland evaluated various IT service management processes applied to the services and infrastructure of the data center.

Additional Resources:

• Learn more about CenturyLink’s data centers in Latin America: http://bit.ly/2mItMhX
• Watch the video about CenturyLink data centers in Latin America: http://bit.ly/2mFYPLi 
• Watch videos about the most recently opened CenturyLink data centers in the region:
  Santiago, Chile: http://bit.ly/2le2csw
  Quito, Ecuador: http://bit.ly/2mGUiIq
  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: http://bit.ly/2lNLYGy

BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Nov. 13, 2019 – CenturyLink Colombia S.A., a subsidiary of the global communications and IT provider CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL), received Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility from Uptime Institute for its data center in Bogotá, Colombia. This certification ensures the facility has been constructed as designed and verifies that it can meet the defined availability requirements.

“Receiving Tier III certification from the Uptime Institute confirms that CenturyLink has put the greatest effort into implementing international norms and standards so IT services – a key resource for organizations – is always operational,” said Felipe Gomez Jaramillo, director of data center, security and cloud for CenturyLink in Colombia. “This recognition means the data centers were designed and built to maintain high availability of IT services, even during the execution of planned maintenance or replacement of any distribution component or white area capacity. We have the required coverage, service and the necessary customer care model that guarantees the highest quality, availability, security and support in our services”.

This certification is granted to technology companies for their design and construction of a data center. The certification process validates compliance with the availability requirements demanded by the Uptime Institute. This guarantees the highest quality, safety and reliability for telecommunications operators.

CenturyLink facilities achieved the Tier III construction certification, the highest quality seal issued by the Uptime Institute, which certifies best practices in data center operations worldwide. The company is integrating IT infrastructure needs with the management of value-added services and technological optimization.

Key Facts:

• The Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility recognition indicates the data center’s operation meets the demands determined by the global parameter system and the requirements of the Uptime Institute for simultaneous maintenance.
• Data center operators have the ability to isolate components and perform planned maintenance without suspending the data center’s operations or affecting IT operations.
• CenturyLink regularly measures and improves its data center and security services. An important part of the maintenance process includes updating and renewing the certification of its installations, the foundation for its strict information security policies, for traditional and cloud services.
• Besides the Uptime Institute’s Tier III, CenturyLink’s data centers in Latin America received several other certifications such as the SAP Hosting, SAP HANA, SAP Cloud and Infrastructure Partner certifications, ISO/IEC 9001, 20000, 27001, 27017 and PCI-DSS, reflecting its commitment to maintain the high level of quality established by international standards and norms for data center management.
• The CenturyLink Colombia data center is managed by an on-site team of experienced technical specialists and the facility meets the latest specifications for earthquake preparedness, as well as industry guidelines for design of energy and environmental conditioning from Uptime Institute for a Tier III data center.
• CenturyLink’s global data center footprint has direct connectivity to its more than 450,000 global route-miles of fiber and metro market reach, serving customers around the world.
• CenturyLink operates more than 350 data centers worldwide, including 18 in Latin America, which host both CenturyLink’s and customers’ IT environments.

About the Uptime Institute and Tier III Certification
The Uptime Institute is an independent international consulting organization, recognized as a reference for market practices on data center critical infrastructure.

In general, a Tier III certification is based on a review of the design documents, and takes into consideration the planned construction and operation of the data center, air conditioning and power infrastructures, in addition to operational procedures and the ability to identify and isolate issues. It demonstrates that the data center is designed to allow maintenance of specific areas without impacting other parts of the infrastructure.