Family Support Services of North Florida Selects EarthLink for Comprehensive IT Services and Network Solution

ATLANTA, June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK), a leading IT services and communications provider, today announced that non-profit child protection services agency Family Support Services of North Florida (FSSNF) has selected EarthLink for a comprehensive network and IT services communications solution to coincide with the agency's move to a new, consolidated campus in August.

Working with partners Global Systems Telecom and ClearComm, EarthLink worked to address FSSNF's challenges, which included too many vendors managing its network, internal network congestion due to inadequate bandwidth and design, and outdated phone systems and applications. FSSNF needed a partner with the network, SSAE 16 compliant data centers and leading-edge IT services to put together a comprehensive plan. By working with EarthLink, FSSNF will gain flexibility, rapid deployment to manage growth, redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities.

"Before we selected EarthLink, our agency dealt with five different communication vendors and performance was disjointed and dysfunctional," said Chuck Burkhart, FSSNF Technology Director. "EarthLink was the sole provider that could deliver the comprehensive solution we needed, offer responsive support and still meet our budget as a non-profit. I am confident that this is the right solution, as for almost the same cost, we are tripling our bandwidth and obtaining full redundancy. Our staff is also very excited about the features, speed and flexibility on the horizon."

In concert with partners ClearComm and Global Systems Telecom, EarthLink designed a customized, scalable solution for FSSNF that includes integrated voice and data with metro Ethernet circuits, Hosted Voice with 150 seats, Cloud Hosting in EarthLink's next-generation Miami data center, Hosted Exchange email with email encryption and email archive to protect confidential documents, and EarthLink TechCare for outsourced help desk support. In addition, to protect against outages or disasters, Family Support Services will utilize Cloud Server Backup to protect mission-critical data, and Secure Remote Access to  increase employee productivity.

As FSSNF's technical advisor, Chris Compton, National Director at ClearComm, brought Global Systems Telecom on board to consult with EarthLink. "EarthLink offers a phenomenal IT services portfolio that no other carrier can replicate at this point," Compton explained. "Working together, EarthLink, ClearComm and Global Systems will provide the customer with ongoing support during the implementation phase and right through installation.It's a solid partnership that will benefit our mutual client tremendously, and we look forward to working even more with EarthLink in future."

EarthLink Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Michael D. Toplisek, commented, "Standing shoulder to shoulder with our partners ClearComm and Global Systems Telecom enabled us to assemble a remarkable team to identify how we could leverage EarthLink's robust product portfolio to meet the needs of Family Support Services of North Florida. Chuck Burkhart has a vision of how technology will help his organization evolve and further their mission. We look forward to making that a reality."

About EarthLink
EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK) is a leading IT services and communications provider to more than 150,000 businesses and one million consumers nationwide. EarthLink empowers customers with managed services including cloud computing, managed and private cloud, and virtualization services such as managed hosting and cloud workspace. EarthLink also offers a robust portfolio of IT security, application hosting, colocation and IT support services. The company operates an extensive network spanning 29,421 route fiber miles with 90 metro fiber rings and 8 secure data centers providing ubiquitous nationwide data and voice IP service coverage across more than 90 percent of the country. Founded in 1994, EarthLink's award-winning reputation for outstanding service and product innovation is supported by an experienced team of professionals focused on best-in-class customer care.  For more information, visit EarthLink's website at www.earthlink.net.

About Family Support Services of North Florida
Family Support Services of North Florida (FSSNF) is a non-profit organization created to perform the duties of Lead Agency in the Community Based Care Project in Duval and Nassau County, Florida. As the Lead Agency, FSSNF provides all child protection services for Duval and Nassau County. Download "Who We Are" at www.fssjax.org to learn more.

About Global Systems Telecom
Global Systems Telecom, Inc, incorporated in January 1993, is one of the country's premier telecommunications marketing services firms. GST has built strong carrier relationships through conducting business ethically and honestly.  We have always been committed to staying in the forefront of industry trends and cutting edge technology and it is reflected in our innovative solutions and our expanding portfolio of products and services.

About ClearComm
ClearComm is a trusted carrier-neutral intermediary that offers voice and data solutions. We represent over 30 top-tier carriers giving us the ability to provide custom designed, multi-vendor voice and data circuit solutions. Whether your objectives are to lower your current circuit costs or implement highly functioning voice, data, Internet, VoIP, and Cloud Services, ClearComm has the resources and expertise to deliver these business critical services.

SOURCE EarthLink