American telecommunications company Lumen Technologies has forged a partnership with Microsoft to advance its digital transformation by leveraging Microsoft Cloud services.
Additionally, Microsoft has selected Lumen Technologies to enhance its network capacity and capability to meet the increasing demands on its data centres driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
According to Microsoft, data centres are now critical infrastructure, powering computing capabilities for millions of users and organisations that rely on the Microsoft Cloud.
Microsoft is advancing AI by providing tools and platforms such as Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Copilot, aimed at enhancing creativity, productivity, and addressing various global challenges.
To enhance and expand its ecosystem, Microsoft is partnering with Lumen Technologies for network infrastructure. This collaboration includes significant investments to support next-generation applications, benefiting platform customers worldwide.
Microsoft Azure core product and design corporate vice president Erin Chapple said: “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, and AI, plus what’s on the horizon.”
Lumen Technologies’ Private Connectivity Fabric network solution includes dedicated access to existing fibre in its network, new fibre installations, and new digital services.
The infrastructure is designed to enhance connectivity between Microsoft’s data centres, providing the necessary network capacity, performance, stability, and speed to meet increasing data demands.
Lumen Technologies has embarked on a transformation to simplify and optimise its operations by adopting Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology. The shift aims to reduce overall technology costs, eliminate legacy systems, improve offerings, and develop new solutions for a global customer base.
The telecommunications company plans to migrate and modernise its workloads to Microsoft Azure, use Microsoft Entra solutions for security, and collaborate with Microsoft to create telecom-specific solutions. This initiative is expected to improve Lumen Technologies’ cash flow apart from enhancing customer experience.
The collaboration builds on the relationship between Lumen and Microsoft. Over the years, Lumen Technologies has utilised Microsoft’s Copilot to automate tasks, reduce employee workloads, and enhance Microsoft Teams.
Lumen Technologies president and CEO Kate Johnson said: “Microsoft has an ambitious vision for AI and this level of innovation requires a network that can make it reality.
“Lumen’s expansive network meets this challenge, with unique routes, unmatched coverage, and a digital platform built to give companies the flexibility, access and security they need to create an AI-enabled world.”
In May 2024, Microsoft announced an investment package to strengthen Southeast Wisconsin as a hub for AI-driven economic activity, innovation, and job creation. This includes $3.3bn in cloud computing and AI infrastructure, the establishment of the first manufacturing-focused AI co-innovation lab in the country, and an AI skilling initiative.
