CenturyLink Cloud

Thanks to alliance Dell-CenturyLink customers of Dell get advantages of computing, network services CenturyLink Cloud and services of data storage. They are available via API interfaces of Web services and the unified control interface including the important automation equipment and orchestrations which are specially developed for CenturyLink Cloud. Also PaaS services based on Cloud Foundry and Iron Foundry are available.

To help customers to get those huge advantages which can give to business cloud computing Dell offers also within the affiliate program of Dell Cloud Partner Program the following integrated solutions and services:

• The expert management and the help in assessment, creation, start and operation of cloud environments with Dell Cloud Consulting and Application Services irrespective of at what stage there are customers: only pass to cloud model, already invested in it considerable resources or are at an intermediate stage.
• An ability to manage one or several public, private or hybrid clouds in the single interface Dell Cloud Manager (before Enstratius).
• Consultation from specialists of Dell who will help customers to select such solution which in the best way will suit them (purchase of a certain solution, its deployment and maintenance) taking into account the budget, workloads, the available infrastructure, features of use, etc.

CenturyLink the supplier of telecommunication services made entry into the cloud market at the end of 2013, having purchased the supplier of infrastructure-as-service of Tier 3. After this CenturyLink selected in separate division all heritage of Tier 3 together with the web and hosting service Savvis purchased by it in 2011 which also included the IaaS component.

Relying on infrastructure and Tier 3 technology, the company offers CenturyLink Cloud based on several DPCs in the territory of the USA now and also in Canada, Germany and Great Britain.

Strengths: Gartner in 2014 praises CenturyLink for "the attractive, special concept of the mobile applied infrastructure" created on the basis of Tier 3 technology which "combines feature set, excellent, other than others, on well thought over platform". This offer is attractive to developers and the organizations which already have experience of use of the Tier 3 platform.

What should be considered: The company nevertheless did not get to the sector Leaders, partly because could not "find enough resources and flexibility" to become level with the leading vendors of the market.

The company should build the cloud platform, deciding at the same time how to consolidate the different offers which are available now at its order as a result of purchases. Something from this mash of cloud services gradually is curtailed, but still appears in the list of offers; it can create confusion for customers.