In 2020, work environments changed significantly. The COVID-19 pandemic was both unanticipated and disruptive, and businesses were faced with keeping their employees and customers safe as the virus quickly spread. While every vertical and organization was impacted differently, almost overnight, companies were forced to make tactical decisions on how to continue to engage and do business with customers, how to contend with interruptions to their supply chains, and how to maintain in-house operations with a predominantly remote workforce. The COVID-19 outbreak not just redefined the way we work, but also placed huge emphasis on prioritizing connectivity for business continuity. The rapid shift from on-site to remote / decentralized working, compelled many organizations to ramp up network capabilities and bandwidth to meet the dynamically changing demands.
The Network Foundation
The network continues to be a crucial component for any successful business strategy – whether it be responding to a once-in-a-lifetime event or the on-going digital transformation journey of organizations.
SD-WAN is essential to these network modernization initiatives, and according to Gartner, we can also expect to see further maturity of SD-WAN products and service offerings. The analyst firm has projected that by the end of 2023, 60% of enterprises will have implemented SD-WAN – a colossal increase from less than 20% in 2019![1]
Even prior to the pandemic, digitalization trends were pushing SD-WAN to immense popularity in Asia Pacific, as enterprises seek cost-effective Wide Area Networks (WANs) to support a multitude of connectivity options that are right-sized to individual application and site requirements. Additionally, smart city initiatives are helping drive investments in network infrastructure via public/private partnerships.
Customers Drive our Innovation
We are delighted to be named a ‘Leader’ in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Services, Global! At a time when there has been so much macro volatility, the industry accolade is testament to Lumen’s continued commitment to responding to market dynamics and customer requirements when it comes to network transformation and business innovation.
A contributing factor to Lumen being categorized within the Leader quadrant was from the global capabilities enhancements and infrastructure investments that occurred over the last 12 months. Specific to Asia Pacific, Lumen has:
- Increased our managed SD-WAN coverage to now cover all APAC markets
- For our AS3356 network – the deepest peered IP network in the world, we augmented our APAC backbone by 76%
- Added on-net facilities in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore
- Launched new MPLS/IP VPN and Direct Internet Access / High Speed IP POPs in multiple countries
- Launched Cloud Connects services for new cloud providers
Opportunities in Asia Pacific
APAC continues to represent a global region of network growth, fueled by several factors which include the growing penetration of smartphones, rollout of 5G enterprise solutions, smart cities initiatives, expansion of global supply chain infrastructure, and long-term shifts to remote working. Lumen will continue to invest in Asia Pacific infrastructure and services in which to continue to serve the evolving needs of enterprise organizations.
We are honored to receive recognition of our efforts by Gartner. Thank you to our customers and partners that helped us on this journey and for your trust in our services.
[1] Gartner Magic Quadrant for Network Services, Global, Neil Rickard, Bjarne Munch, Danellie Young, Published 2 March 2021
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