Brad Smith Vice Chair and President at Microsoft | Official website
DENVER and REDMOND, Wash. — JULY 24, 2024 — Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) have announced a partnership to leverage the Microsoft Cloud for advancing Lumen’s digital transformation. Additionally, Microsoft has selected Lumen to enhance its network capacity and capability in response to increasing demands on its datacenters driven by AI.
Datacenters are crucial infrastructure supporting the computational needs of millions relying on the Microsoft Cloud. As a leader in AI innovation, Microsoft provides tools and platforms such as Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Copilot aimed at boosting creativity, productivity, and addressing significant challenges. To sustain this growth, Microsoft is collaborating with Lumen as a strategic network infrastructure supplier.
Lumen’s Private Connectivity Fabric℠ will be integral to this partnership, offering dedicated access to existing fiber networks, new fiber installations on various routes, and utilizing Lumen’s digital services. This AI-ready infrastructure aims to bolster connectivity between Microsoft's datacenters by enhancing network capacity, performance, stability, and speed.
“AI is reshaping our daily lives and fundamentally changing how businesses operate,” said Erin Chapple, corporate vice president of Azure Core Product and Design at Microsoft. “We are focused both on the impact and opportunity for customers relative to AI today, and a generation ahead when it comes to our network infrastructure. Lumen has the network infrastructure and the digital capabilities needed to help support Azure’s mission in creating reliable and scalable platform that supports the breadth of customer workloads—from general purpose and mission-critical to cloud-native high-performance computing.”
Kate Johnson, president and CEO of Lumen Technologies stated: “We are preparing for a future where AI is the driving force of innovation and growth...Microsoft has an ambitious vision for AI...Lumen’s expansive network meets this challenge with unique routes, unmatched coverage, and a digital platform built to give companies flexibility.”
Lumen is undergoing an enterprise-wide transformation aimed at simplifying operations through Microsoft's cloud and AI technology. This includes migrating workloads to Microsoft Azure, employing Microsoft Entra solutions for security purposes, and developing new telecom industry-specific solutions with Microsoft. These efforts are expected to improve cash flow by over $20 million within 12 months while enhancing customer experience.
Erin Chapple added: “Azure’s advanced global infrastructure helps customers...transform their business with AI...We are committed to partnering with Lumen...to drive business growth.”
