CenturyLink Expands Cloud Ecosystem to Offer IBM Cloud Object Storage for Customers

-- Surge in online video content spurs more cloud adoption

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) announced the expansion of its cloud connectivity and services portfolio to include IBM Cloud Object Storage platform. With the addition of this storage option, CenturyLink can offer media and entertainment companies a more scalable, highly-available, and secure way to improve the management and delivery of their content globally.

As media viewership grows and people increasingly prefer to consume entertainment on mobile devices, media and entertainment companies are rethinking how they can support and deliver greater volumes of high-quality content to customers worldwide. With reports indicating content delivery networks (CDNs) will carry 72 percent of internet traffic by 2022, the need for a hybrid cloud approach that includes cloud-based storage and workflows to support that growth has spiked.

IBM Cloud Object Storage offers CenturyLink customers a centralized, resilient, scalable solution so they can be confident in their ability to manage and move content securely and at high-speed. IBM Cloud Object Storage can handle content libraries of virtually any size for seamless management and delivery, which is particularly important to media and entertainment companies that need to rapidly move and manage large, complex and sensitive data.

"Providing high-performance, geographically-diverse origin storage is critical to achieving great user experiences when attempting to reach global audiences -- particularly when it comes to serving fast-growing regions like Latin America and Asia-Pacific," said Bill Wohnoutka, vice president of global internet and content delivery solutions for CenturyLink. "IBM Cloud Object Storage combined with CenturyLink's rapidly expanding global CDN footprint offers our customers a scalable, highly-available and resilient option to improve user experience for content delivery globally."

Today's news builds on CenturyLink's decision last year to deliver secure, dedicated, and private network connectivity to the IBM Cloud through CenturyLink Cloud Connect solutions.

"The media and entertainment industry faces unique challenges today in the way content is consumed and the sheer volume of data that must be transferred at any moment," said Phil Buckellew, GM, IBM Cloud Object Storage and Databases. "With the integration of IBM Cloud Object Storage, CenturyLink can now offer its customers even more options in how they move and manage their data across environments. This kind of hybrid cloud approach is critical as they look to keep pace with booming viewership and shifting preferences."

Key Facts

-- The launch of the availability of IBM Cloud Object Storage supports

CenturyLink's strategy to provide a one-stop-shop for comprehensive

cloud and networking solutions.

-- In addition to IBM Cloud Object Storage, CenturyLink customers can

take advantage of the services offered through the IBM Cloud via

CenturyLink's Cloud Connect solutions,

https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/cloud-connect.html,

which allows for real-time addition and deletion of private Ethernet

connections to cloud service providers.

-- Additional cloud offerings from CenturyLink include:

- Multi-cloud management, https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/multi-cloud-management.html

- Private cloud, https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/private-cloud.html

- Public cloud, https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/public-cloud.html

- Bare metal servers, https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/bare-metal-cloud.html

- SaaS applications

- Cloud connectivity services

-- CenturyLink's CDN:

- Delivered ~42.8 exabytes of data globally in 2018.

- Answered 74.4 trillion requests globally for content like videos or

photos in 2018.

- Saw global year-over-year peak traffic growth (from 15.75 Tbps in

2017 to 27.98 Tbps in 2018).

- Provides 40+ Tbps of total edge capacity across 6 continents in

more than 100 major cities.

- Offers 60 petabytes of storage.

Additional Resources

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