National
2012
CenturyLink Wins U.S. Long Haul Wholesale Carrier Excellence Award from ATLANTIC-ACM
CenturyLink received the 2012 U.S. Long Haul Wholesale Carrier Excellence Award for Brand from telecommunications research consultancy ATLANTIC-ACM. ATLANTIC-ACM surveyed hundreds of domestic long haul wholesale customers in its annual U.S. Long Haul Wholesale Report Card to determine Carrier Excellence award winners.
The 2012 ATLANTIC-ACM U.S. Long Haul Wholesale Report Card is an impartial, market-wide customer feedback study of domestic wholesale providers. Customers were asked to rank wholesale service providers in categories that include brand, sales representatives, provisioning, network performance, billing, customer service, and numerous product quality and price competitiveness categories. The Brand award is measured by customer ratings of carriers' reputations for quality and service.
"CenturyLink's 2012 win for Brand maintains the company's trend of earning positive wholesale customer recognition," said Fedor Smith, ATLANTIC-ACM President. "CenturyLink's latest addition to its wholesale accolades underscores respondents' perceptions that CenturyLink continues to reliably deliver wholesale services."
Savvis, a CenturyLink company, was ranked by CRN.com as one of "The 20 Coolest Cloud Infrastructure Vendors"
Since its acquisition by CenturyLink, Savvis has become part of the carrier cloud revolution. The combined companies create a managed hosting and collocation juggernaut with the ability to scale and meet the demand for cloud services and outsourced IT with a growing global presence.
CRN.com delivers strategic information and useful business tools that solution providers and other channel professionals use every day.
Gartner, Inc. recognizes Savvis, a CenturyLink company, as a leader in two cloud-focused Magic Quadrants: Managed Hosting and Public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service
Leading industry analyst firm Gartner, Inc. has positioned Savvis, a CenturyLink company and global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprises, in the Leaders quadrant in both the Magic Quadrant for Managed Hosting and the Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service.
"Many of the world's largest and most well-known companies rely on Savvis' enterprise-class cloud solutions, and we believe these Magic Quadrant recognitions speak loudly to the reasons our clients see us as a global cloud leader," said Bill Fathers, president of Savvis. "Our focus on cloud will continue as demonstrated by our recently accelerated investment in our cloud offerings. We deliver cloud-based solutions that improve business agility and reduce costs."
Savvis' flexible enterprise cloud services are designed and deployed to meet a broad range of global computing needs. From integrated and hybrid cloud designs to fully virtualized cloud data center solutions, Savvis cloud services deliver business agility and can transform enterprises through maximum scalability and security, seamless migration, a flexible engagement model and superior performance for even the most mission-critical of business requirements.
The Magic Quadrant for Managed Hosting was published on March 5, 2012. The Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service report was published on Dec. 8, 2011. Both reports were authored by Gartner analysts Ted Chamberlin and Lydia Leong.
The evaluation for both reports was based on vendors' completeness of vision, including market understanding, offering strategy and innovation, among other criteria. The Magic Quadrant also assesses ability to execute, which includes capabilities, overall viability and customer experience.
About the Magic Quadrant: Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Network World names Savvis, a CenturyLink company, to its listing of the 10 most powerful IaaS companies
Network World assembled this list with help from analysts at Cloud Technology Partners, Current Analysis, Enterprise Strategy Group, Gartner, IDC and Neovise who watch the public cloud Infrastructure as a Service scene very closely. Each was asked to name the companies they believed have the most influence -- whether that's measured in market share, mind share, revenue, existing enterprise pull or underlying technology links -- in drawing enterprise customers into the realm of public cloud infrastructure.
Savvis, a CenturyLink company, markets its VMware-driven public cloud IaaS called Symphony Virtual Private Data Center right alongside its private cloud offering and with the optional managed services it has already built its enterprise reputation upon. The company offers tiered levels of services, service level agreements and prices to match those levels. The company has put a huge emphasis on deep security and a unified portal across all of its services. The combination puts Savvis in the top five market share leaders in the VMware public cloud IaaS bucket.
Network World is the premier provider of information, intelligence and insight for Network and IT Executives. With an editorial focus on delivering news, opinion and analytical tools for key decision makers who architect, deploy and manage business solutions, Network World offers a unique and powerful combination of audiences and resources across Online, Print and Events to meet your marketing objectives. Network World magazine and NetworkWorld.com are part of the IDG (International Data Group) company.
SearchCloudComputing.com ranked Savvis, a CenturyLink company, third on its list of the top 10 cloud computing providers of 2012
One of three telcos to make this year's list, CenturyLink demonstrated how serious it is about becoming a top-tier cloud services player when it purchased Savvis last year. Last year's number three provider was IBM.
SearchCloudComputing.com is the Web's most comprehensive resource for cloud computing news, analysis and case studies. The site provides IT professionals with real-world examples of how cloud computing is being used today. Learn who the key players are and how they rate against each other, how the technology works, and how you consume and pay for it. Plus, access case studies of successful deployments in the cloud with explanations of new business opportunities and how to tap into them.
2011
CenturyLink Business Markets Group Wins "Best-in-Class" Awards
CenturyLink earned two "Best-in-Class" Business Services awards, based on the 2011 Business Connectivity Report Card by ATLANTIC-ACM, a leading telecommunications research consultancy and benchmarking firm.
ATLANTIC-ACM recognized CenturyLink's Business Markets Group for excellence based on customer feedback in two key areas: ILEC/IXC Billing and ILEC/IXC Enterprise Voice Value.
CenturyLink is the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States as a result of its acquisition of Qwest. This marks the fifth consecutive year CenturyLink or Qwest has won at least two Business Services awards, and the fourth consecutive year CenturyLink or Qwest has taken the award for Billing.
"In addition to clinching two Business Services awards, CenturyLink was top-rated for Metro Private Line (Speeds DS1 and below) for both Quality and Price Competitiveness, and Long Haul Private Line (Speeds DS3 and above) Price Competitiveness," said Dr. Judy Reed Smith, chief executive officer, ATLANTIC-ACM. "Such widespread customer satisfaction across operations and products serves as a true testament to customers' admiration for CenturyLink's range of business services."
The awards resulted from ATLANTIC-ACM's annual Business Connectivity Report Card. The Report Card evaluates telecommunications carriers in key performance areas based on approximately 3,500 customer ratings.
"These awards reflect that our customers recognize our efforts to deliver a superior level of service," said Chris Ancell, president of CenturyLink's Business Markets Group. "We are dedicated to serving the needs of our customers and continuing this solid performance."
ATLANTIC-ACM Metro Report Card names CenturyLink Wholesale Markets Group "Best-in-Class"
CenturyLink earned "Best-in-Class" honors from customers across the nation who were surveyed for the ATLANTIC-ACM Metro Wholesale Report Card. CenturyLink Wholesale won five of the firm's coveted "Best-in-Class" awards in the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) category: Customer Service, Network Performance, Data Value, Provisioning and Sales Representatives.
"We take pride in delivering a robust suite of high-quality data/IP and voice solutions to our wholesale customers, domestically and internationally," said Bill Cheek, President of CenturyLink's Wholesale Markets Group. "We are grateful for our customers, who continue to appreciate our dedication to serving them and to ATLANTIC-ACM for conducting the surveys and providing us with important feedback. It is an honor to be recognized by our customers."
With the integration of Qwest into CenturyLink, this marks the sixth consecutive year for this Wholesale Markets Group to be recognized with "Best-in-Class" awards.
ATLANTIC-ACM is an international strategy consulting and research firm focusing on the emerging and converging telecommunications and multimedia industries worldwide.
CenturyLink and Savvis Earn Spots on 2011 InformationWeek 500 List of Top Technology Innovators Across America
CenturyLink and Savvis, a CenturyLink company, were included in the 2011 InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation's most innovative users of business technology. The 2011 list was revealed at an awards ceremony at the InformationWeek Conference in Dana Point, California.
CenturyLink was recognized for its ability to develop and deliver the technology to keep up with the company's continued growth as a result of its merger with Embarq in 2009 and with Qwest in 2011. The company has grown to become the nation's third largest telecommunications provider and now serves consumers and businesses in 37 states. It also provides data, voice and managed services to business, government and wholesale customers in local, national and select international markets. In July 2011, CenturyLink acquired Savvis, creating a premier managed hosting and colocation provider with global scale.
Savvis was recognized by InformationWeek 500 for leveraging the social networking Jive software in a project that connects internally between company employees and externally with strategic clients through shared documents, blogs, forums, wikis and user profiles.
"We are honored to have both CenturyLink and Savvis earn spots on this year's InformationWeek 500 ranking," said Girish Varma, CenturyLink Executive Vice President of IT Services. "We each have had great success in developing innovative communications services and delivering effective technology solutions."
InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual listing and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America's best-known companies. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate IT rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.
"For 23 years, the InformationWeek 500 has chronicled and honored the most innovative users of business technology," said InformationWeek Editor in Chief Rob Preston. "In this day and age, however, being innovative isn't enough. Companies and their IT organizations need to innovate faster than ever before to stay a step or two ahead of their customers, partners, and competitors. This year's ranking placed special emphasis on those high-octane business technology innovators."
CenturyLink receives 2011 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award
CenturyLink received the 2011 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award – the highest recognition given by the Department of Defense to public sector employers – for its exceptional support of employees serving in the Guard and Reserve.
CenturyLink CEO and President Glen F. Post, III accepted the Freedom Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
"CenturyLink is committed to providing a supportive atmosphere to our employees who serve our country in the armed forces and to their families," Post said. "We are honored to be recognized by the Defense Department with this award."
The Freedom Award recognizes the support given to Guard and Reserve employees by Qwest Communications, which was acquired by CenturyLink in April 2011. Qwest had previously won the Freedom Award at the state level for three consecutive years. CenturyLink is among 15 organizations receiving the national award this year from a field of more than 4,000 nominations submitted by service members or their families.
In another recognition of its commitment to employees who also served in the military, CenturyLink has been named to the list of "45 Great Employers for Vets" by Military Times EDGE. The magazine determined the list based on survey responses from Fortune 1000 companies and top government contractors that rated the employers on their vet-friendliness in three areas: recruiting, corporate culture and reserve policies.
According to Military Times EDGE, "We looked for companies that could prove they make veterans a priority – not just with slogans and statements of support, but with programs, policies and positive track records."
2010
ATLANTIC-ACM bestows upon CenturyLink Wholesale Operations "Best-in-Class" Awards
CenturyLink Wholesale Operations earned "Best-in-Class" awards for the fourth consecutive year, based on the 2010 Metro Wholesale Carrier Report Card study by ATLANTIC-ACM, a leading telecommunications research consultancy and benchmarking firm.
ATLANTIC-ACM recognized CenturyLink Wholesale Operations for excellence in the area of Sales Representatives for a third consecutive year and Billing for the second consecutive year. The awards are given to carriers based on direct feedback from their wholesale customers.
"CenturyLink's wins in Sales Representatives and Billing reflect well on the company's efforts to maintain a high standard when it comes to customer experience," said Fedor Smith, president of ATLANTIC-ACM. "What is truly impressive is that CenturyLink won both of these awards in the study last year, and its legacy company Embarq won the Customer Service award in 2008 - clearly, they have a long-standing commitment to serving their customers."
Qwest (acquired by CenturyLink in 2011) won Carrier Excellence Awards for Customer Service, Data Value, Performance, Network, Billing (tied) and Provisioning in 2010, as well as receiving the highest numerical average ratings of metro wholesale customers' opinions for their Local Circuit Switched Voice Quality and SONET Ring Quality. In 2009, Qwest received Best-in-Class awards for Enterprise Data Value, Small-Business Data Value, Network Performance, Enterprise Voice Value, Provisioning, Billing and Sales Representatives and Quality of Data Solution.
Avaya names CenturyLink Service Provider Partner of the Year
CenturyLink has been named the 2010 "Service Provider Partner of the Year" by Avaya. The award was announced at the Avaya 2011 America's Partner Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Avaya is a global leader in business communications software, systems and services. This prestigious award, earned in the first year of CenturyLink's channel partner agreement with Avaya, was given based on the company's ability to fully certify and train more than 500 sales and professional engineer and technician resources, growth in revenue performance of 110 percent and internal deployment of Avaya technology.
"CenturyLink has risen to the top despite operating during economically challenging times in our country and has continued to invest their time and resources in advancing their Avaya expertise," said Sandy Preizler, vice president, Service Provider Channels, Avaya. "As a result, they were rewarded by both the market and now, by Avaya."
"This award represents CenturyLink's ongoing efforts to bring superior solutions to our business customers," said Shirish Lal, senior vice president of marketing at CenturyLink. "Our customers have leveraged Avaya technology along with advanced CenturyLink services such as Ethernet, MPLS, and Managed Services to build state of the art communications networks which help them deliver on their business objectives."
Bloomberg Businessweek ranks CenturyLink 7th among Tech 100
For the 12th year, Bloomberg Businessweek has ranked the top performing tech companies in the world. And among the 2010 superstars such as #2 Apple, #4 Amazon and #22 Google, this year you will find CenturyLink at #7 – a member of the prestigious digital elite. Pare down the list to include only U.S. companies, and CenturyLink comes in at a healthy #4.
Cisco Partner Summit Regional Awards for the U.S. and Canada
Cisco Systems, Inc. recognized the Business Markets Group (BMG) division of Qwest (acquired by CenturyLink in 2011) with U.S. and Canada Service Provider Cisco Capital Partner of the Year, Service Provider Advanced Technology Partner of the Year and West Region SLED Partner of the Year. In 2009, Cisco Systems, Inc. recognized the BMG with US and Canada Provider Partner of the Year, Advanced Technology Partner of the Year and Services Partner of the Year.
Nemertes PilotHouse Award for "Top Provider of Carrier Ethernet Services for a Market Challenger"
Nemertes Research interviewed more than 2,000 IT decision makers and asked them to rate Ethernet providers. Qwest (acquired by CenturyLink in 2011) received the highest rating for customer service of any provider and the highest overall score among Ethernet Market Challengers, winning the prestigious Pilothouse Award. In 2009 Qwest received awards for Top Provider - Best Overall, Best Value and Best Customer Service.
2009
ATLANTIC-ACM bestows upon CenturyLink Wholesale Operations "Best-in-Class" Awards
CenturyLink was recognized by ATLANTIC ACM with four Wholesale "Best-in-Class" awards: Provisioning (three-time winner), Customer Service (two-time winner), Sales Representatives (two-time winner) and Billing.
Eastman Chemical Company "Supplier of the Year"
CenturyLink was tapped by Eastman Chemical Company as the 2009 "Supplier of the Year," the first time in Eastman's 90-year history the honor has been awarded to a communications company. CenturyLink was selected from 6,000 global Eastman suppliers. The award was presented at a ceremony held in April 2010. Eastman is a global chemical company manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of chemicals, fibers and plastics. Their world headquarters in Kingsport, Tennessee is also home to their research and development operations.
Regional and Local
2012
Reader's Choice Awards, Best ISP – Whitley County, Indiana
CenturyLink was again voted the #1 Internet Service Provider in Whitley County, Indiana, as per the Post & Mail's annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Reader's Choice Awards, Best ISP – Sussex County, New Jersey
CenturyLink was again voted the #1 Internet Service Provider in Sussex County, New Jersey and surrounding areas, as per the New Jersey Herald's annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Optimism Award – United Way of Franklin County, North Carolina
CenturyLink was recognized for its long history of partnering with the United Way of Franklin County and for contributing to the success of their events.
Outstanding Support of Community Award – Youngsville Women's Club of Youngsville, North Carolina
The Youngsville Women's Club honored CenturyLink for its constant support in their charitable efforts.
2012 Women's Leadership Council Teamwork Award – United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
CenturyLink received the 2012 Women's Leadership Council Teamwork Award for its Purses for a Purpose Auction, which raised money for local women's and children's programs.
2011
"Gold Ribbon" for Best Internet Provider – New Jersey Herald
CenturyLink was voted the Best Internet Provider in northwest New Jersey, as per the New Jersey Herald's 6th annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Top 25 Large Company Philanthropists in Washington state – Puget Sound Business Journal
Qwest (acquired by CenturyLink in 2011) was honored in May as the one of the Top 25 Large Company Philanthropists in Washington state by the Puget Sound Business Journal. The Journal ranked companies by corporate and foundation cash giving in Washington for the 2010 calendar year.
2010
"Above and Beyond" Business Award – Citrus County, Florida
CenturyLink, along with Mike Fitzpatrick, area plant supervisor, was awarded the 2010 "Above and Beyond" Business Award from the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce located in Inverness, Florida.
Reader's Choice Awards, Best ISP – Sussex County, New Jersey
CenturyLink was voted the #1 Internet Service Provider in Sussex County, New Jersey and surrounding areas, as per the New Jersey Herald's annual Readers' Choice Awards. The list of winners was published May 16, 2010.
Reader's Choice Awards, Best ISP – Whitley County, Indiana
CenturyLink was voted the #1 Internet Service Provider in Whitley County, Indiana, as per the Post & Mail's annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Thomas H. Scott Award of Excellence – Monroe, Louisiana
CenturyLink received the 2010 Thomas H. Scott Award of Excellence for Corporate entities, an award presented to Monroe-based businesses for contributing to the local economy.
2009
Corporate Member of the Year – New Bern, North Carolina Area Chamber of Commerce
CenturyLink was named Corporate Member of the Year by the New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce. The company was cited for being a consistent and dependable supporter of Chamber events and its membership in the New Bern Military Alliance since it began in 2001.
Member of the Year – Olive Branch, Mississippi Old Towne Association
CenturyLink was named 2009 Member of the Year by the Olive Branch Old Towne Association.
Readers' Choice Award, Best of Charlotte – Port Charlotte, Florida
CenturyLink's Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda Area retail store was presented with the 2009 Best of Charlotte Readers' Choice Award for Internet provision.
SOAR (Seeking Opportunities Achieving Results) Business of the Year Award – San Marcos, Texas Chamber of Commerce
CenturyLink received the first ever SOAR (Seeking Opportunities Achieving Results) Business of the Year Award from the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce for "exemplary service and commitment to the community." The award recognizes local educational collaborative efforts for encouraging increased educational attainment in the area. CenturyLink was a founding member of the San Marcos Educational Foundation and funds three scholarships to San Marcos High School seniors who choose to attend Texas State University in the city.
TIDE Award – Walton County, Florida (Fourth Quarter Award)
The TIDE Program recognizes and celebrates economic investment by businesses and organizations in Walton County. Two awards are presented quarterly by the Walton County Economic Development Alliance (WCEDA) to area businesses that made a tangible investment or improvement in buildings, equipment/machinery, or other business assets that resulted in the creation or retention of jobs, increase in tax base, and other forms of economic growth. The WCEDA also recognizes businesses that have made a long-term investment in Walton County by having operated successfully for a minimum of five years, and are in good standing with and have contributed to the community in which they conduct business.