Lumen is giving its customers a new way to access and manage networking services by introducing Internet On-Demand capability for its Network as a Service (NaaS) cloud platform, creating a cloud-like experience to buy, consume and manage network services.

Internet On-Demand is part of Lumen's broader vision for its cloud service portfolio. This is the first and flagship service added to the Lumen NaaS platform, starting with limited availability. Over time, Lumen NaaS will expand to include security services, such as DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service), SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), and Edge services.

"Lumen is putting the customer at the center of our Network-as-a-Service platform, creating a cloud-like experience for buying, consuming, and managing our network services," said Andrew Dugan, CTO of Lumen. Businesses are looking for a dynamic, dedicated internet connection but want it from a reliable and flexible network. Unlike some Network-as-a-Service players, Lumen can deliver on this promise because we own and manage our network."

Driving customer flexibility
Customers can use a digital portal or APIs (Application Program Interface) to order Lumen Internet On-Demand and future services for instant internet connections to public data centers and port-enabled business locations. Also, they quickly assign an existing port at a new enterprise building, connecting them to Lumen's network. Once they establish this connection, the digital experience begins, including: 

·      A dedicated connection to one of the world’s largest networks

·       Scale capacity in minutes 

·       Internet speeds from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps

·       A consumption-based billing model; pay only for the time services are active, starting at hourly rates 

·       Real-time visibility into service performance and network usage

·       Quick enablement of new capabilities

Lumen’s partners, like AWS, are already bringing the provider’s NaaS platform benefits to its customers.

Fox Sports brought its live sports content to AWS using an on-demand connection aligned with Lumen's Network-as-a-Service platform. "Lumen plays an important role in helping content providers move video content to AWS," said Evan Statton, Sr. Principal Architect in M&E at AWS.

A partnership approach

Lumen NaaS will leverage a broad ecosystem of partners – including data centers, cloud, technology, and managed service providers - to extend its reach.

Digital Realty is one of the first third-party data center providers to join the Lumen Network-as-a-Service Alliance Partner program. Joint customers can provision on-demand services using a digital portal or API in real-time and increase or decrease bandwidth as needed. 

"Lumen's cutting-edge Network-as-a-Service solution, combined with our global network of highly connected facilities and orchestration platform ServiceFabric™, empowers enterprises with on-demand, personalized experiences, revolutionizing the way networks are consumed and managed,” said Chris Sharp, CTO of Digital Realty. “This highlights our shared vision as we unite to meet the evolving needs of our customers."

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