Lumen Technologies: Digitally connecting people, data, and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly.

The March 14^th, 2023, Telarus Tuesday call welcomed Jake Weaver, Advanced Solutions Consultant, Richard Fry, Senior National Channel Manager, and Tina Telson, Advanced Solutions Director, Lumen. Lumen gave an excellent presentation on their SASE and Cloud communications specialty line service. The entire recording can be viewed here.

About Lumen

Lumen is a multinational technology company that enables companies to capitalize on emerging applications and power the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). This revolution redefines how they live and work, creating an unprecedented need for an advanced application delivery architecture—explicitly designed to handle the complex and data-intensive workloads of next-gen technology and businesses.

They integrate network assets, cloud connectivity, security solutions, and voice and collaboration tools into one platform that enables businesses to leverage their data and adopt next-generation technologies.

Lumen brings together the talent, experience, infrastructure, and capabilities of CenturyLink, Level 3, and 25+ other technology companies to create a new kind of company—one explicitly designed to address the dynamic data and application needs of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Adversaries adapt faster than defenders. 

• Cybercrime is a business: There IS a motivation behind these attacks. Major players in the threat actor space are well-financed and are trying to maximize profits.
• Regulation: There has been a slew of executive orders and recommendations from the federal government, and that’s been great. They are Finding many enterprises wanting to follow this recommendation as well. Like any gov document – not all that simple to follow or understand.
• Attack and Defense escalations: Threats are evolving in complexity and frequency, making them harder to defend against.
• Complex IT environments: Our customers’ environments are also growing in complexity, making them harder to protect.
  

Lumen Edge Cloud and Security Solutions

What is SASE?

Gartner coined secure access Service Edge or SASE a few years ago to address security challenges as the cloud became the new center of gravity.

SASE enables several outcomes, including securely connecting users to any application with the best user experience by incorporating converged network and security capabilities, including SD-WAN, SWG, CASB, NGFW, and zero trust network access

The SASE Strategy 

SASE is generally comprised of five key networking and security technologies:

• SDWAN
  • Reduces complexity and optimizes the user experience by selecting the best route for traffic to the internet, cloud apps, and the data center.
• Next-Gen Firewall (NGFW)
  • Delivers advanced firewall capabilities, including access controls, URL filtering, advanced threat protection, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and DNS security.
• Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
  • Protects users from web-based threats in addition to applying and enforcing corporate acceptable use policies.
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
  • Protects cloud-based data and applications by providing visibility into cloud usage, identifying high-risk activities, and enforcing security policies.
• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
  • Provides secure remote access to an organization’s applications, data, and services based on clearly defined access control policies.

Lumen SASE – Empowering defenders to do more with less. 

Lumen has partnered with best-in-class technology vendors, Fortinet and VMware, combined with Black Lotus Lab threat intelligence to offer a better together SASE solution.

Customers look to Lumen for:

• Lumen’s #1 peered global network provides an ideal foundation for SASE solutions
• Simplified deployment of Industry-leading platforms configured for their individual use case
• Expansive view of the current threat landscape
• Rapid Threat Defense powered by Lumens Black Lotus Labs for automated threat response
• Relieving strained team by providing:
  • Monitoring and auto-ticketing
  • Incident Response
  • Troubleshooting
  • Device replacement
  • Change configuration
  • Software Updates (firmware and security profile updates)

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Lumen Cloud Communications Specialty Line Service

Business Challenges

Lumen is the only company dedicated to POTS transition with the scale necessary to accommodate the demands of SMBs to large enterprise customers.

• Millions of copper lines
  • The FCC and carriers are aggressively decommissioning copper wires in all locations expediting the move to wireless connectivity.
• No single point of contact
  • Enjoy a single point of contact that manages all your needs from disparate price points, installation, invoicing, remote monitoring, and support.
• Lack of Scalability
  • Our cloud-enabled platform is continuously enhanced with new capabilities and provides maximum transparency.

Solutions for all your systems

Specialty Lines: Why Lumen 

Lumen provides a consolidated, single relationship and system with subject matter experts who combine a tailored, comprehensive onboarding experience with meticulous monitoring, support, and ongoing management.

• Increase efficiency with a single provider with experience in active voice and data networks with embedded security.
• “Always on” with UPS backup and multi-carrier 5G and LTE failover
• Complete white glove treatment in site survey and installation with a complete package of CPE (ATA, UPS, LTE/5G router)
• Customer visibility and reporting via the online portal provide customers with actionable information and peace of mind.
• A single point of troubleshooting means faster resolution.
• Specialty Lines includes the Cloud Communications package, which provides the opportunity for telephony and UCC, or it can be seamlessly added to an existing UCC solution.
• Bundling with Lumen network services can provide a reliable, high-quality experience.
• It can be provisioned with third-party access anywhere, not limited to the Lumen service area.
• Positions customers for the future when POTS is no longer available or prices increase.

To learn more about Lumen, visit www.lumen.com.