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It’s every CIO’s dilemma: bandwidth requirements ebb and flow throughout the month and there are cer- tain times when network traffic increases and certain times when it decreases. For most agencies, this means there are days or even weeks when they are using all of the bandwidth that they have available. However, there may be just as many instances when reduced network demand means there’s excess capacity. That’s money going down the drain. For many small independent federal agencies, their work is cyclical in nature. There are times when network traffic spikes, such as when payments are being processed and customer service inquiries start rolling in, and there are times when network traffic dips significantly. As part of its desire to be more efficient, one small inde- pendent agency recently sought an Ethernet networking services provider. It was looking for a company that could offer a bandwidth-on-demand solution to meet the needs of its more than 50,000 employees worldwide while also meeting its variable data requirements. And the bottom line was important. The requirements had to be met at or below the agency’s budget. The solution was a Networx task order that was awarded to CenturyLink as the agency’s managed data networking services partner. A Collaborative, Cooperative Effort CenturyLink was poised to provide such services because of its unique customer-focused perspective. First and foremost, the company strives to recognize a customer’s needs and requirements, and marry them with the right technologies and services instead of the other way around. For example, CenturyLink was not the only carrier that was partnering with the agency; another provider was already working with them and will continue to do so as a secondary services provider. However, since the agency was looking for a true managed service, CenturyLink agreed to manage that secondary carrier and its equipment, explains Shawn Carroll, the company’s director of engineering and customer care. “We received high marks for listening to the agency and saying, ‘We’re not just working with you, we’re working with the other carrier as a team to support you,’” said Carroll. CenturyLink has been working collaboratively with the agency’s staff to provide better visibility into the entire agency’s network operations, which serve the data centers, regional offices, program service centers, remote operations communications centers and more than 1,500 field office locations around the world. “While the agency is buying a managed service — and we’re providing it to them — we’re also sitting on their premises running the network operations center side- by-side with their network operations center folks,” explained Diana Gowen, senior vice president and general manager. “We’re giving them views into their portion of our network that not all customers request.” Part of this expertise comes from deep systems and technology know-how that helped CenturyLink go from having no presence at the agency to having a fully-staffed, on-site network operations organization in 40 days. This included the installation of all the tools and resources required to manage the network, as well as executing training for the entire network operations center staff, according to Carroll. This was important and something the company set out to do first, before deploying a single circuit. “We needed to make sure we were ingrained in the network operations center.” Today, CenturyLink stands ready to support all of its government clients with customer-centered manage- ment, technical support and lifecycle engineering ser- vices. “Basically, every network provider has the same technology,” explains Gowen, “but when we can work with the customer and really understand their individual needs, we become a broker of their success.” SmartSolutions Bandwidth-on-demand and managed services help CenturyLink’s customers succeed, save money. From Zero to Fully Staffed in 40 Days Sponsored Content > news, ideas & trends in brief For more information about CenturyLink’s government services and offerings, please contact your agency’s representative, email us at [email protected] or visit us at CenturyLink.com/federal CM120447 3/13
