Lumen Technologies and Microsoft on Monday announced an expanded co-selling collaboration to help enterprises overcome a critical challenge in AI adoption: connecting the data, applications and infrastructure that power AI workloads.
As AI initiatives expand, organizations need to use data and applications distributed across public clouds, private data centers, offices and partner environments. Yet the networks connecting these environments often remain fragmented and complex. Lumen’s capabilities help customers align network transformation with Microsoft Azure modernization plans earlier, so connectivity, security, data movement and AI infrastructure decisions are planned as part of one enterprise architecture.
Lumen’s extensive network and on-demand control capabilities provide Azure customers with the simplified connectivity and resilient, high-performance network foundation needed to put AI to work. As part of the expanded collaboration, Lumen intends to bring its full suite of cloud networking and application connectivity capabilities to Azure, expanding how customers can access and deploy Lumen capabilities through Microsoft’s cloud and AI ecosystem.
“AI is reshaping where applications run and how organizations use and move data,” said Katy Brown, Corporate Vice President, Americas Markets and Industries at Microsoft. “Microsoft is committed to giving customers choice as they connect existing environments to Azure. Our work with Lumen is focused on helping customers align their broader network transformation with their Azure cloud and AI priorities, while taking advantage of Azure’s native networking, security, scale and innovation.”
“Enterprises are moving quickly to adopt AI, but many are still figuring out how to connect the data, applications and infrastructure behind it,” said Ryan Asdourian, chief strategy and marketing officer at Lumen. “Together with Microsoft, we’re bringing cloud, network and AI planning together earlier and putting AI to work more effectively.”
Expanding enterprise access to cloud-native networking
Through expanded co-sell efforts, Microsoft and Lumen intend to extend joint account planning engagement around enterprise opportunities where network modernization, Azure cloud platform migration and AI transformation increasingly converge. The companies also plan to identify opportunities to bring additional Lumen capabilities to Azure and Microsoft Marketplace over time.
Alkira, a Lumen Connect solution available through Microsoft Marketplace, provides customers with an established purchasing option for its cloud-native networking capabilities.
The collaboration supports several enterprise priorities:
- Connect distributed data for AI: Link enterprise sites, data centers and clouds to support Azure-based AI initiatives.
- Simplify hybrid and multi-cloud networking: Apply consistent policies and visibility across distributed environments.
- Adapt as needs change: Connect new clouds, partners and applications without treating each as a separate networking project.
