CenturyLink Offers SMBs Cloud Communications Tools
Company will make its CenturyLink Engage solution available via channel
CenturyLink is looking to help SMBs move their voice and collaboration services to the cloud through its CenturyLink Edge offering.
The Lowdown: The company is making CenturyLink Engage available to its channel partners as part of its voice and unified communications portfolio.
The Details: The program is designed to let SMBs add new features and functionality to their current, compatible communications environments. CenturyLink Engage includes a softphone application for PCs, tablets, and smartphones. IP phones are optional as is an online directory listing. It also includes customer relationship management (CRM) integration and an array of add-on tools.
Other points of the program include:
> More than 80 features, such as advanced call routing, audio, video, instant messaging, file sharing collaboration, and access to call centers.
> The ability for companies to bring their own Internet or bundle with CenturyLink Internet, which is optimized for cloud-based communications applications and services.
> A satisfaction program that enables organizations to end service at any time without early-termination fees.
The Impact: The vendor is making CenturyLink Engage available to businesses throughout the United States and has plans to expand it internationally, and customers can buy it online or through the sales department.
Background: Communications and collaboration continue to shift to the cloud, according to Synergy Research Group. In the third quarter of 2019, revenue from on-premises and cloud communications and applications were almost $11 billion, and the hosted and cloud-based offerings accounted for 64% of the market. Three years earlier, it was close to a 50-50 split with on-premises offerings.
The Buzz: “CenturyLink Engage delivers simple, flexible cloud calling and collaboration with an exceptional user experience,” said Adam Saenger, vice president of networking solutions at CenturyLink. “When paired with our network connectivity, the customer experience is further enhanced because cloud and business applications depend on network scale and performance. The CenturyLink network has the speed, scale, and reliability designed to optimize critical, real-time applications such as CenturyLink Engage. These capabilities are just another way we are creating value for our small and medium business customers.”
“CenturyLink’s new Engage service allows customers to bring their own Internet, but also offers the option to optimize performance by using the service over the CenturyLink network,” said Amy Lind, research manager at IDC. “CenturyLink also allows users to mix and match the connectivity, which can be advantageous for customers with multiple locations in different cities.”
Related Links:
CHANNELNOMICS: CenturyLink Lays Out Its Edge Strategy
