SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 -- Optical fiber network provider American Fiber Systems (search for American Fiber Systems) and Ciena Corp. (search for Ciena), today announced the addition of managed and dedicated wavelength services to AFS's service portfolio. Customers in financial services and healthcare are among the numerous industries that will benefit from the new wavelength speeds, more intricate business continuity, and disaster recovery services. In addition, privately-held AFS is now a designated Managed Services Provider partner within Ciena's BizConnect global partner program.
According to Informa Telecoms & Media, the market for managed and dedicated services in the U.S. is expected to be greater than $34 billion by 2013. With AFS's deployment of Ciena's remotely programmable CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform, enterprises and carriers will now have the flexibility to support constantly changing configurations and varying end-user service requirements without interrupting day-to-day operations, say the companies.
"While this is a high-growth market, the opportunity we see in managed and dedicated services comes from our ability to stand out from the incumbents," explains Rich Coyle, sSenior vice president of operations at American Fiber Systems. "We make it easier and faster for our customers to turn up services. We're able to do this even better by partnering with vendors like Ciena, who allow us to provision and proactively manage new or upgraded services and additional capacity with minimal resources."
For example, AFS says it can address the requirements of a range of customers, industries, and applications, including support for regional banks making time-sensitive financial transactions; healthcare groups sending high-bandwidth patient imagery between hospitals; and media and entertainment companies transferring high-definition video from studios to post-production facilities.
"The CN 4200 family already provides the transport infrastructure for AFS's metro networks, so extending the platforms to the customer premises to deliver managed and dedicated services streamlines AFS's operations and accelerates service delivery," notes Mike Aquino, senior vice president of global field operations at Ciena. "This expansion of our relationship with AFS also highlights how programmable network elements and unified transport and service management are key aspects of service-driven networks and differentiators for AFS's managed services."
As a Ciena BizConnect Managed Services Provider partner, AFS has access to Ciena's network equipment, technical support, and guidance on developing service offerings, as well as an interactive online partner and marketing support community.
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