CenturyLink Opens Technology Center of Excellence

CenturyLink (CTL) has opened its Technology Center of Excellence at its corporate headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana. The telecommunications giant broke ground on the center in March 2013.

The Technology Center of Excellence features a technology research and development lab, a network operations area and office and meeting space. A CenturyLink spokesperson told Talkin’ Cloud that the center is designed to promote collaboration and serve as “the hub for innovation” where CenturyLink employees can develop new products and services.

“We are no longer just a phone company,” the spokesperson said. “Over the next five years, CenturyLink expects to evolve from a traditional network communications provider to a growing, integrated provider of advanced IP-enabled network, cloud, hosting and IT services.”

The spokesperson also noted that at least 800 CenturyLink employees will work at the center, and these employees will begin moving into the center this week.

Glen F. Post III, CenturyLink’s CEO, added that the center could help his company “attract the top talent in the world.”

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CenturyLink is the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States. It recorded $18.0 billion in operating revenues last year, down from $18.1 billion in 2013, but some of the company’s recent moves could help it boost its profits.

For example, CenturyLink made two acquisitions in December — disaster recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) company DataGardens and big data solutions provider Cognilytics.

CenturyLink said the DataGardens acquisition ultimately would provide customers with multiple DR planning options.

Girish Varma, CenturyLink’s president of global IT services and new market development, told Talkin’ Cloud that the Cognilytics acquisition would deliver “huge potential for revenue generation” for CenturyLink, and his company was targeting cloud-related acquisitions to further extend its global reach.

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