CenturyLink - News Items and Articles

Nielson Norman Group Names CenturyLink Business in Top Ten of World's Best Intranets

Fri, 06 Jan 2012

Intranet team size as a percentage of company size is now more than double what it has been for the past three years and is at an all time high, according to usability expert Jakob Nielsen whose user-experience research firm Nielsen Norman Group today announced the winners of its 12th annual intranet design contest. In 2001, when Nielsen Norman conducted its first competition, the average intranet team size was 0.012% of company size. Today, the teams that designed and manage the world's top 10 intranets represent on average 0.074% of company size, a striking six times what team sizes were in 2001. This year's winning teams and their intranets are showcased in Nielsen Norman Group's new 431-page report "Intranet Design Annual 2012: The Year's 10 Best Intranets."

Cindy Humphrey Awarded 2011 DMA B-to-B Marketer of the Year

Tue, 01 Nov 2011

For Cindy Humphrey, VP-product and marketing at telecom company CenturyLink Business, an open attitude may be the secret sauce for effective B2B marketing these days. "My teams sat down and had an open-attitude conversation about experimentation; let's try this in a small area and see how it goes. When you do that, you end up with some success stories," said Humphrey, who was recently named by the Direct Marketing Association as its 2011 B-to-B Marketer of the Year. The award recognizes B2B marketers for their achievements, innovation and leadership.

The Evolution of the Telecom Carrier: CenturyLink and the Cloud

Fri, 17 Jun 2011

One carrier that has made a recent entry into the cloud services market is CenturyLink, by virtue of its $18.8B merger with Qwest, rapidly followed by its planned $2.5B acquisition of co-location and hosting provider Savvis. By these actions, CenturyLink has made it abundantly clear that it wants to transform itself from a rural provider of landline SMB and consumer telecom services to a major cloud and business network services provider.

With CenturyLink-Qwest merger done, No. 3 telco targets AT&T and Verizon

Wed, 20 Apr 2011

Upon the completion of the CenturyLink-Qwest merger, the combined companies made CenturyLink the third-largest telecom operator in the United States—behind AT&T and Verizon—in terms of access lines and high-speed Internet subscribers. Chris Ancell, president of CenturyLink's newly formed Business Markets Group, tells SearchTelecom.com how the completion of the merger has made the combined companies more competitive in selling IT services to enterprise and government customers.

Cindy Humphrey Touts TrendIT Tool in the New York Times.

Wed, 20 Apr 2011

Madison Avenue Turns Toward the Entrepreneurial
]]>Madison Avenue will never be confused with Silicon Alley, much less Silicon Valley. But increasingly, agencies are trying to channel their inner entrepreneurs by pursuing ventures outside the realm of traditional advertising tasks.

Pieter Poll: Profit from IPv6 Migration Outreach

Fri, 18 Mar 2011

This is the second article in a two-part series on the telecom carrier's role in customers' IPv6 transition plans. Enterprises have very little appetite for an IPv6 migration today, but service providers shouldn't pull back on the IPv6 evangelizing. The opportunity for profiting with IPv6 transition services may not be apparent, but many carriers believe their efforts will pay off in the years to come as they use the IPv6 migration as a way to build stronger relationships with enterprise customers.

Cloud Computing Brings Sunny Skies for Qwest and Cisco

Fri, 18 Mar 2011

Qwest has implemented the Cisco Unified Service Delivery (USD) solution across its CyberCenters. Qwest CyberCentersSM provide a highly-secure, reliable, scalable foundation for the delivery of state-of-the-art hosting for mission-critical enterprise application services. Qwest VP of Product Management and National Network Services, Eric Bozich, talks about how Cisco Unified Service Delivery brings new flexibility to cloud service delivery.

Blake Wetzel, Qwest Vice President of Sales Named Channel Executive of the Year

Fri, 18 Mar 2011

Blake Wetzel, vice president of sales for the Qwest Business Partner Program (QBPP), has landed the title of Channel Executive of the Year 2011. Wetzel earned the designation after receiving the most votes in Channel Partners magazine's annual Channel Executive of the Year poll. Wetzel has held his current position for almost two years, worked for Qwest for 11 years and been in the indirect channel for four years. Wetzel said partners play "an increasingly important role" in the success of Qwest's Business Markets group and that he aims to strengthen the relationship between the company's direct and indirect sales teams.

Qwest E-Line offering delivers dedicated bandwidth

Fri, 14 Jan 2011

A new point-to-point Ethernet offering from Qwest dubbed iQ E-Line service provides customers with end-to-end dedicated bandwidth, said Eric Bozich, vice president of Qwest National Network Services in an interview with Connected Planet.

Video, telecom network management still challenge fixed line operators

Tue, 7 Dec 2010

Qwest Communications CTO Pieter Poll spoke with SearchTelecom.com about how the former "Baby Bell" is managing growing Internet traffic from its backbone to access networks.

IT Business Edge Highlights Qwest Business Slideshow, "Five Real-World Tactics to Protect Your Enterprise Networks"

Mon, 15 Nov 2010

Today's successful businesses run at the speed of light, requiring employees and corporate assets to be available and accessible 24x7. Enterprises must find ways to allow rapid, flexible access while protecting themselves from serious risk.

Pieter Poll: Selling Enterprises on IPv6 Migration

Fri, 29 Oct 2010

This is the first article in a two-part series featuring Qwest CTO Pieter Poll on selling the enterprise on making the IPv6 migration. Selling enterprise customers on an IPv6 migration plan with no obvious return on investment (ROI) is not easy. Whether your sales reps are coaxing expense-phobic CFOs or skeptical IT professionals, service providers will face resistance. As such, carriers must pitch the IPv6 transition as a gradual process that enables business continuity, rather than relying on Y2K-style scare tactics.

CTO Edge Features Article by Qwest CTO Pieter Poll: "Engineering Today's Network for Tomorrow's Internet Experience"

Thr, 19 Aug 2010

The next generation of telecommunications networks will change the world in new and exciting ways just as they always have. I believe that future is here and already taking shape as the telecommunications industry morphs into something entirely new: an experience driven by the customer.

Qwest Positions Network for Cloud

Mon, 16 Aug 2010

Recently, Qwest's National Network Services Vice President Eric Bozich outlined the company's plans to include Cloud Computing services into its business solutions portfolio in an early April edition of the Denver Business Journal.

Qwest, IBM Team to Secure SMBs

Wed, 31 Mar 2010

Light Reading Chief Editor, Events, Carol Wilson weighs in on Qwest's efforts to "bring sophisticated security solutions to a new group of customers: small to mid-sized businesses."

Qwest opens a new data center focused on delivering cloud-based services

Wed, 14 Apr 2010

Increased demand for cloud-based services is driving the need for increased data center capacity, including a new Washington D.C.-area facility opened today by Qwest Communications.

Eric Bozich Praises QMOE for its Impact on Health Information Technology

Mon, 22 Mar 2010

Read vice president of product management, Eric Bozich's take on the benefits of Qwest Metro Optical Ethernet (QMOE) to health information technology (HIT) in this special USA Today insert. Find out how Qwest is "Creating Medical Records That Talk" on page six.

Qwest Cloud Courts Middle Market

Fri, 19 Mar 2010

Qwest is seeing its greatest demand from business customers who aren't big enough to gain the necessary economies of scale from operating their own data centers but still want security, reliability, and scalability. Eric Bozich, vice president of national services for Qwest, talks to Light Reading about this trend.

Business Week: Managing the Wireless Data Deluge

Fri, 22 Jan 2010

Qwest CTO, Pieter Poll, shares how Qwest is on top of the wireless data deluge—the sending of text messages, e-mails, and photos sent from smartphones—by helping to widen the data highway with wireless backhaul equipment and services.

New York Times Interviews Qwest COO, Teresa Taylor

Fri, 22 Jan 2010

Teresa Taylor shares her thoughts on listening, leadership, hiring, and keeping it simple with Adam Bryant of the New York Times in an article titled, "Everything on One Calendar, Please."

Eric Bozich Talks About the Qwest 100Gbps Backbone and Developments in Ethernet Services

Thu, 12 Nov 2009

Eric Bozich, vice president National Services at Qwest, talks about how the Qwest backbone will scale quickly and cost-effectively for enterprise, consumer, and wholesale customers. Bozich also describes the range of shared and dedicated Ethernet services Qwest offers, and shares how Qwest is participating in developing industry-standard processes for network-to-network interfaces for Ethernet services.

A Qwest VP Tells How to Handle H1N1 at the Office

Sat, 7 Nov 2009

Eric Bozich, Qwest vice president National Services, answers a series of questions about the potential impact of H1N1 at the workplace and how to keep a business operating in the event of a pandemic.

Trends and Advances in Communications Technologies: Pieter Poll's View

Mon, 2 Nov 2009

Recently, Qwest CTO Pieter Poll sat down with key news outlets resulting in several online interviews. In three separate interviews linked here, Poll brings into focus his thoughts on current trends and advances in communications technologies, including cloud computing, social networking , and the super-fast broadband speeds planned for Qwest's long-haul network.

EVP = Exploring Valuable Principles With Qwest's Bob Tregemba

Tue, 1 Sep 2009

Wanna grow your career and become an executive of a major service provider? Follow Bob Tregemba's advice: Be sure your peers know you are pulling for them. THEY are the ones that will make you promotable.

An All Digital Hospital Webcast

Fri, 31 Jul 2009

Western Regional Medical Center in the CTCA network relies on a high-speed networking solution designed by Qwest Communications to help deliver a fully integrated, patient-centered treatment experience that combines traditional, state-of-the-art medical treatments with scientifically supported complementary therapies.

Top 3 Imperatives for Investing in IT During the Downturn

Mon, 20 Jul 2009

Eric Bozich, vice president, project management, Qwest, underscores the three operational imperatives that businesses must focus on in 2009 to make their networks as secure and efficient as possible.

Q&A with Qwest's Trent Clausen, Director of OSP Engineering

Mon, 20 Jul 2009

Trent Clausen, Director of OSP Engineering, Qwest Communications, is profiled in a thought-leadership Q&A on the topic of broadband: how best to deploy it, what it means for consumers to have a converged voice, video, data and wireless service, and how we'll need to train technicians as the technology matures.

Q&A with Qwest CTO Pieter Poll

Mon, 20 Jul 2009

Pieter Poll touches upon all aspects of the network and customer experiences, including fiber, residential, video, business and even cloud computing. True to form, Poll is a true visionary and demonstrates a deep understanding of what the customer wants to experience and how technology can deliver that experience.

Qwest Honored by Cisco

Wed, 24 Jun 2009

Qwest Communications was recently named recipient of three Cisco Partner Summit awards: US & Canada Service Provider Partner of the Year, Service Provider Advanced Technology Partner of the Year, and Service Provider Services Partner of the Year.

IBM, Qwest Delivering IT Services To Mid-Sized Businesses

Thu, 18 Jun 2009

IBM and Qwest Communications International have teamed up to deliver packaged IT infrastructure services to mid-size businesses across the United States. The telecom and IT software partnership is largely based on the concept that many mid-size businesses want sophisticated computing services, but can't afford the capital investment.

IBM, Qwest team on managed services for medium-sized firms

Wed, 17 Jun 2009

Qwest Communications and IBM today announced a national partnership aimed at bringing a bundle of managed IT and communications services to medium-sized businesses.

IBM to Manage Qwest Services

Wed, 17 Jun 2009

Qwest and IBM have signed a five-year agreement that will give Qwest customers access to several IBM-managed services targeted at medium-sized businesses.

Qwest: Ethernet enhances the education experience

Wed, 17 Jun 2009

Qwest signed a deal with the Utah Education Network to connect 21 of the state's 40 school districts to its statewide fiber-optic network.

Disaster recovery fits hosted model well

Mon, 15 Jun 2009

Business continuity services getting less expensive, more technologically rich.

The Grill: Qwest's Pieter Poll says why being a CTO is a dream job

Fri, 12 Jun 2009

Qwest's chief technology officer, Pieter Poll, talks of joking about being paid for his job 'because it's fun', and outlines where Qwest is headed.

Utah Education Network Connects Rural and Urban Schools

Wed, 10 Jun 2009

The Utah Education Network, a non-profit school consortium, has teamed up with Qwest Communications to deliver high-speed network services to Utah schools. The "multi-year, multimillion-dollar agreement" will connect 21 of Utah's 40 school districts to Qwest's GeoMax fiber-optic network.