Uptime Institute to Certify All of CenturyLink's 57 Data Centers for Management and Operations (M&O) Excellence

NEW YORK and MONROE, La., Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Uptime Institute today announced that CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) will be the first company to be evaluated and awarded at the global portfolio level for Management & Operations (M&O) certification. CenturyLink has pledged its commitment to data center operational excellence by pursuing the M&O Stamp of Approval for all 57 of its global data centers.

The M&O Stamp of Approval is an outcome-based guideline that centers on operational excellence and was developed based on analyzing the root cause of 20 years of outages in high-performance data centers. M&O moves beyond a subjective "best practices" approach, looking at why data centers fail and how to minimize, if not eliminate, operator errors and management shortfalls. Uptime Institute has long held that the leading cause of data center failures is operations related, and a well-run, legacy data center may out-perform a poorly run data center featuring a more robust or modern design.

"We view Uptime Institute as the preeminent global authority on data center standards and believe that businesses should hold their data center providers to high standards for operational excellence," says David Meredith, senior vice president at CenturyLink. "A data center's design is a strong foundation, but keeping businesses running 24/7 requires solid processes and highly qualified staff. CenturyLink is resolute in our commitment to our data center teams—excellence in training, processes and procedures—and the proven results of high-availability data centers."

"This commitment shows that CenturyLink has the confidence to be open and transparent about its industry-recognized data center facilities, operations and management, and we are honored that the company will use our Management & Operations Stamp of Approval as the standard across its global footprint," says Lee Kirby, CTO of Uptime Institute. "By adopting an industry standard for existing operations, CenturyLink assures its clients that retirement, turnover, and contractor selection will not disrupt the fundamentals of the operations—and that availability levels remain steady. We applaud CenturyLink for volunteering for a level of scrutiny that no other company has undertaken at this scale, which inherently challenges others in the marketplace to reveal themselves as openly. As organizations evaluate data center providers, M&O certification should be noted as a meaningful competitive differentiation."

In addition to committing to M&O Stamp of Approval across its portfolio, CenturyLink has also received several Tier Certifications from Uptime Institute for recent data center build projects in the U.S., Canada, and Hong Kong.

About Uptime Institute
Uptime Institute is an unbiased advisory organization focused on improving the performance, efficiency, and reliability of business critical infrastructure through innovation, collaboration, and independent certifications. Uptime Institute serves all stakeholders responsible for IT service availability through industry leading standards, education, peer-to-peer networking, consulting, and award programs delivered to enterprise organizations and third-party operators, manufacturers, and providers. Uptime Institute is recognized globally for the creation and administration of the Tier Standards & Certifications for Data Center Design, Construction, and Operational Sustainability along with its Management & Operations reviews, FORCSS™ methodology, and energy efficiency initiatives.

Uptime Institute – The Global Data Center Authority^®, a division of The 451 Group, has office locations in the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, U.K., Spain, U.A.E., Russia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Visit www.uptimeinstitute.com for more information.

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.

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