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CenturyLink Joins Networking Managed Service Provider Program for Microsoft Azure

CenturyLink Joins Networking Managed Service Provider Program for Microsoft Azure

Feb 28, 2020

Customers can now more easily create secure, high performing cloud solutions

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
CenturyLink Joins Networking Managed Service Provider Program for Microsoft Azure

NASA Entrusts CenturyLink With More Network Connectivity Business

Jan 7, 2020

DENVER, June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) recently won a second task order from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to manage all of NASA’s voice traffic and provide fast, secure network connectivity to NASA’s more than 15 space centers and regional research facilities.

The company previously won a task order to provide NASA headquarters with core backbone network services with speeds of up to 100 Gbps. These mission-critical modern voice and network services will support NASA’s space exploration programs.

Both contracts were awarded to CenturyLink under the General Services Administration’s 15-year, $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) program and both have a period of performance of nine and a half years.

“We’re honored to provide mission-critical voice services and network connectivity that allow NASA to focus on its vision to discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity,” said David Young, CenturyLink senior vice president for the public sector. “NASA entrusted CenturyLink with a second EIS award to provide agency-wide voice services and run its regional network that connects its celebrated space centers and regional research facilities with headquarters locations.”

CenturyLink won the first task order ever awarded under GSA’s EIS program to provide core backbone network connectivity to NASA in spring of 2019. The company was also the first supplier to receive authority to operate under GSA’s EIS contract last year.

EIS is a multiple-award contract vehicle for federal government agencies to purchase information technology and telecommunications infrastructure services. It gives federal agencies the flexibility and agility to migrate to modern communications and IT services that meet strict government security standards.

Key Facts

  • By supplying cybersecurity, cloud, managed hosting and IT services over its carrier-class network, CenturyLink provides government agencies with the security and reliability they need to carry out their important missions.
  • CenturyLink is ranked No. 29 on Washington Technology’s 2018 Top 100 list of federal government IT contractors.

Additional Resources

CenturyLink Joins Networking Managed Service Provider Program for Microsoft Azure

CenturyLink Receives ISO 20000 Certification for Network Management Services in LATAM Provided from Colombia

Dec 20, 2019

Certification confirms adherence to strictest information technology policies

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:

CenturyLink Joins Networking Managed Service Provider Program for Microsoft Azure

CenturyLink’s Data Center in Bogotá Receives Tier III Certification From Uptime Institute

Nov 14, 2019

Certification marks high standard for data centers

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.

CenturyLink Joins Networking Managed Service Provider Program for Microsoft Azure

CenturyLink Collaborates with Alphabet’s Loon to Provide Internet Access in Earthquake-Affected Areas in Peru

Jul 15, 2019

High Altitude Balloon Network Delivers Connectivity to Tens of Thousands

LIMA, Peru, July 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Underserved areas in Peru affected by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake were able to access the internet thanks to Loon, a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space designed to extend internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas worldwide. CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL), in collaboration with Alphabet’s Loon, deployed the solution delivering connectivity to tens of thousands of people cut off by the earthquake.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8524353-centurylink-and-loon-collaborate-to-provide-internet-access-in-peru/

“In 2017, Peru was struck by devastating floods and we saw how important an integrated balloon powered network is to communities struggling to recover from the devastation,” said Luis Ladera, data and internet product director, CenturyLink Peru. “The recent earthquake was widespread. Being able to set up ground stations and connect the balloons to our internet backbone to reach areas with complete outages meant those most affected had the ability to communicate with loved ones and to have access to critical information.”

Forty-eight hours after the earthquake, Loon was able to connect balloons to the internet backbone using their ground stations and CenturyLink solutions to deliver service. CenturyLink holds the experimental E-band license in Peru for Loon’s backhaul services, which are still in a testing phase for commercial use. The 71-76 and 81-86 GHz bands, known as “E-band,” are permitted worldwide for ultra-high capacity point-to-point communications.

Key Facts:

  • On 27 May, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit the Amazon region in Peru. At the request of the government of Peru, Loon balloons were re-directed to the area. 48 hours later, the balloons arrived and began serving the community.
  • Leveraging Alphabet’s Loon balloons and CenturyLink’s backbone, affected areas were provided internet access and data capacity.
  • This is the second time balloon-powered internet has connected tens of thousands of people proving challenges in wireless coverage in areas of disaster can be addressed.
  • CenturyLink’s dedicated internet access provides global reach and scalability over its diversified network, with connectivity in more than 60 countries. Its IP backbone capacity is more than 72 terabits per second (Tbps).

Additional Resources