CenturyLink > Case Studies > Ciena Drives Business Growth with CenturyLink Colocation Services and MPLS Networking

Ciena Drives Business Growth with CenturyLink Colocation Services and MPLS Networking

Company Size

1,000+

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

CenturyLink Colocation Services
CenturyLink MPLS Networking

Tech Stack

Cloud Architecture
Software Defined Networking

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Ciena is a strategic networking technology provider that helps its customers use a wide variety of solutions to leverage their network as a strategic asset for their business. As cloud architecture spreads throughout the business world, software defined networking has become a strategic approach to serving network resources on an on-demand basis. That demand might be triggered by mobile app users or calls from application programming interfaces (API) within the cloud. Ciena helps their customers maximize efficiencies and opportunities to deliver services within that flexible network environment. The company is highly focused on networking technology and it is a beneficiary of the rapid evolution of cloud architecture and software defined networking.

The Challenge

Ciena, a fast-growing networking technology provider, was looking to grow its IT services and deliver new capabilities to support business growth, while managing cost. The company was predominantly operating an internally focused model, which added its own levels of complexity in terms of patching, support, and maintaining large environments. As the company grew, it started to stretch the infrastructure requirements of the IT organization. The IT goals involved cost management, flexibility, and reliability. Predictability in cost and performance were two of the needs identified as critical to support the next wave of growth and business planning. The managed services model offered an opportunity to lock these in as part of service level agreements (SLA).

The Solution

Ciena moved its IT operations into a CenturyLink colocation data center leveraging CenturyLink’s deep expertise in data center management, allowing Ciena to focus on its critical applications and driving its business. CenturyLink Consulting performed a critical assessment ahead of the move. All technical and business continuity issues were identified and addressed before anything was unplugged. Because CenturyLink provided an assessment ahead of the migration, the move went smoothly and the data center was reconstructed quickly with no disruption in services. The colocation arrangement now gives Ciena a new production environment for its network services. CenturyLink personnel also work hands-on to tune the hardware and software so that Ciena gets the most out of the relationship.

Operational Impact

Predictable costs and service levels have changed the planning process for Ciena IT.
Ciena is getting access to new hardware and software faster than its traditional in-house planning process had allowed.
Overall tempo has improved.
The security and compliance certifications of CenturyLink’s facilities and reporting protocols have streamlined the compliance processes for Ciena.