Business transformation: The journey to a dynamic, secure future

DDoS and ransomware attacks are no longer a matter of “IF” it is now “WHEN”. Consequently, there’s a question I always ask whenever talking to customers about access, whether it be Dedicated Internet Access, MPLS or some other connection. I ask: “And how do you plan to secure that?”

Lumen has been at the forefront defending and protecting our customers’ IT solutions. From our own solutions with Black Lotus Labs to partnering with some of the top leading IT security organizations worldwide. For instance, with VMware we are working on Secure Access Services Edge (SASE), putting the software stack, network and services together to deliver SASE, making it work for customers, everywhere. SASE is a new approach where security is, essentially, embedded in the access and this added security appeals to customers across all industries in my region.

I am Lumen’s VP and General Manager in the tri-state area including New York City. My varied career in technology led me to Lumen as business transformation has always been my focus and Lumen has assembled the platform to drive those business and digital transformations across the economy.

New technologies for the journey ahead

Sailing is my passion. When I’m not helping customers directly, you’ll find me on a body of water somewhere. Sailing is all about the journey rather than the destination. There are many things to pay attention to that have little to do with the destination, but everything to do with getting there.

I think business (and digital) transformation now resembles sailing more than it does hopping on a fast motorboat. We used to think that a given piece of infrastructure was enough, whether that was a bigger pipe or more processing power. Today, these transformations are a never-ending journey where many things can change in big or small ways in the environment, and all the various tools matter all the time.

For instance, many thought moving to the cloud was the ultimate destination, a panacea, if you like. The cloud has many benefits, but to reap those benefits you must also account for other things. The cloud, SaaS, hybrid networks and more all seemed like destinations at first, but quickly became part of a much larger transformation journey. You must use all the tools together and make the proper adjustments as your environment changes.

SD-WAN brought a degree of control to these hybrid environments. We’re building on that foundation to bring new levels of enterprise security, leveraging Lumen’s significant investments in our fiber networks and edge computing capacity. This allows us to create more direct connections to the major cloud providers and then replicate that capability in our edge facilities to offer better performance, lower latency, and greater overall efficiency for customers without sacrificing security.

In fact, we’re investing more than $1 billion into edge nodes by the end of the year designed to cover about 95 percent of the U.S. with 5 millisecond latency or less. Delivering a cloud experience at the edge to big regional markets like my own, as well as much smaller markets, will enable workloads to be processed closer to where they are consumed. It extends the reach of big enterprises and creates new local opportunities for more regional businesses. Your edge capabilities can be around the corner or multiplied around the country.

These new capabilities create a baseline for planning the next phase of digital and business transformation – the next leg of the journey. This forward-thinking approach is what brought me to Lumen. Lumen’s platform powers business transformation – right in your hometown to your neighbor across the globe.

And we can do it securely.

Learn how the secure edge is a core part of winning in the digital age.

Learn More 

This content is provided for informational purposes only and may require additional research and substantiation by the end user. In addition, the information is provided “as is” without any warranty or condition of any kind, either express or implied. Use of this information is at the end user’s own risk. Lumen does not warrant that the information will meet the end user’s requirements or that the implementation or usage of this information will result in the desired outcome of the end user. This document represents Lumen’s products and offerings as of the date of issue. Services not available everywhere. Business customers only. Lumen may change or cancel products and services or substitute similar products and services at its sole discretion without notice. ©2021 Lumen Technologies. All Rights Reserved.