CenturyLink Launches Managed Office, a Fully Managed IT Services Solution For Small And Medium-Sized Businesses

MONROE, La., Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) announces the launch of Managed Office - a user friendly, fully managed IT services and communications network bundle for small and medium-sized business customers that features a game-changing level of customer care typically reserved for large enterprise business customers. 

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"Managed Office is CenturyLink's solution for customers who are frustrated managing disparate networks, keeping up with new technologies, allocating IT staff, reconciling multiple bills, making never-ending investments in IT infrastructure and failing to resolve issues via the traditional call center support model," said Shirish Lal, senior vice president of marketing, CenturyLink. "Our research convinces us that no competitor is offering SMBs a thorough managed services solution with high-touch customer service at such an affordable and flexible price."

Leveraging network, Hosted VoIP and cloud capabilities, Managed Office is CenturyLink's first managed services offering geared toward small and medium-sized businesses combining and supporting all of the following features:

• Managed network and Hosted VoIP: The Managed Office environment is anchored by a single, converged IP network for Internet, data transport and Hosted VoIP voice service backed by solid service level agreements. Network connectivity is delivered via reliable, business-grade Ethernet or other connectivity options available at the customer's choice of speeds.
• Managed CPE (customer premises equipment): CenturyLink provides and maintains hardware, including feature-rich IP phones, routers, switches and Wi-Fi access points.
• Hosted apps and cloud-based storage: Reliable cloud-based business applications free IT support from expensive and time-consuming software and server maintenance, creating opportunities to focus on big-picture, revenue-driving priorities. Managed Office includes hosted email and calendar software, collaboration software and data backup services. Software upgrades are included, and the suite of cloud-based business applications available with Managed Office will continue to be expanded in the future.
• Security software: Advanced security features are layered throughout the network and applications. 
• Managed install and training: Each Managed Office customer is assigned a dedicated project manager and an account consultant who learns its business, understands its network requirements, manages installation and reviews the first bill. Customers receive personalized service, feature and software training, tailored to their needs and schedule.
• One-stop support: When service is up and running, trained specialists who work exclusively with Managed Office customers are on-call 24/7 at a dedicated, U.S.-based technical assistance center. In addition, customers receive ongoing support from a single account consultant who understands their IT services and communications network needs.  
• Scalable per-seat pricing that shifts costs from capital to operating expenses: Managed Office offers a monthly price-per-employee user option that can help make it easy to predict the cost of managing the entire communications network, and businesses can easily scale up or down to meet seasonal needs or accommodate growth. As a monthly operating expense, Managed Office reduces the total cost of ownership for IT services by eliminating up-front capital investments or ongoing maintenance on equipment that could break or become obsolete.

"SMBs face very different challenges from larger businesses; scaled-down enterprise services can't serve these companies effectively. CenturyLink Managed Office has been built from the ground up to deliver a comprehensive package with the levels of service and support that smaller business customers need," said Brian Washburn, an analyst with Current Analysis.

"We ordered Managed Office to consolidate our voice, data and IT services into a single package. Our CenturyLink project manager made sure that the entire process from install to training went smoothly and was on time. Our new VoIP phones give us crystal-clear sound, and we especially like the flexibility we have to add seats as our business grows while knowing in advance how much we will be spending," said Curtis Eubanks, vice president of Aleutian Consulting, a business consulting firm and a Managed Office beta customer.

To learn more, visit: http://centurylinkmanagedoffice.com/.

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the United States and is recognized as a leader in the network services market by technology industry analyst firms. The company is a global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise customers. CenturyLink provides data, voice and managed services in local, national and select international markets through its high-quality advanced fiber optic network and multiple data centers for businesses and consumers. The company also offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLink® Prism™ TV and DIRECTV brands. Headquartered in Monroe, La., CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations. For more information, visit www.centurylink.com.

SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.