CenturyLink Cloud Announces Automation for Enterprise Deployments of Microsoft Lync

Best Practice Cloud Blueprints Deliver Global, Highly Available Environments in up to 75% Less Time than Manual Alternatives

MICROSOFT WORLDWIDE PARTNER CONFERENCE (Booth #2124), HOUSTON, TX & BELLEVUE, WA — July 9, 2013 — Tier 3, a public cloud infrastructure and cloud management platform provider, today announced the availability of new enterprise environment templates known as “Cloud Blueprints” for Microsoft Lync, Exchange, and SharePoint. Enterprise customers can use Cloud Blueprints to accelerate the deployment of applications in Tier 3’s public cloud.

Consider a Microsoft SharePoint environment – a typical 10-server SharePoint farm can require over 30 hours of work to build and configure. In contrast, the Cloud Blueprint for a similar environment which consists of 81 discrete steps requires only 10 minutes to configure. The Cloud Blueprint automatically executes the instructions, and the environment is ready a few hours later. This highly automated approach dramatically reduces the manual time required for IT staff to construct new cloud environments, saving days of effort and reducing the opportunity for human error.

“Enterprise IT is in the midst of a major transition from simply keeping key systems running, to accelerating business transformation,” said Jared Wray, founder and CTO of Tier 3. “A logical first step in this journey is to migrate key ‘run-the-business’ messaging and collaboration applications to the cloud. With Cloud Blueprints, IT doesn’t have to spend weeks manually configuring their cloud infrastructure – now it takes just a few clicks. This immediately frees up IT staff to spend more time supporting strategic business initiatives.”

Cloud Blueprints: How They Work

Each Cloud Blueprint is an executable script that includes customized virtual server builds, pre-configured Windows or Linux power commands, and user-defined scripts. The precise ordering of the deployment configuration is also specified, ensuring all dependencies are met for a flawless installation. When triggered by the user, Cloud Blueprints prompt users to input the customized variables specific to their environment and the Cloud Blueprint will sequentially complete the steps.

When initiated through Tier 3’s cloud management portal, Cloud Blueprints are deployed on Tier 3’s enterprise cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service offering. Customers may choose to deploy applications in any of the company’s federated network of nine data centers around the world. Cloud Blueprints are available to each Tier 3 customer free of charge.

New Microsoft Packages Powered by Cloud Blueprints

Tier 3 now offers custom packages for core Microsoft business solutions. Each package is based on a Cloud Blueprint, designed to accelerate and support rapid deployments for customers.

  • Tier 3 for Microsoft Lync. Tier 3 is one of the only cloud providers offering Lync as a service, including a Managed Lync option where Tier 3 systems engineers perform routine maintenance and administrative tasks on the customer’s behalf.
  • Tier 3 for Microsoft Exchange. Enterprises can deploy tens of thousands of mailboxes on Tier 3’s cloud. To further reduce operational overhead customers may choose to upgrade to a Managed Exchange deployment.
  • Tier 3 for Microsoft SharePoint. Business can run the most complex, ambitious deployments of SharePoint on Tier 3 – supporting scenarios from business intelligence to collaboration, without worrying about resources, implementation or availability.
  • Tier 3 for Microsoft SQL Server. Tier 3’s high-performance, secure infrastructure – backed by a 99.999% SLA – supports the most demanding database applications and the most advanced configurations.

Pricing for all packages is available upon request.

Cloud Blueprint Libraries – for Microsoft Solutions and More

The company offers several Cloud Blueprints for Microsoft Lync, Exchange, and SharePoint that have been validated by extensive real-world use cases and large-scale deployments. Tier 3 partners and customers may browse a set of publicly available Cloud Blueprints, create their own, or work with Tier 3’s Professional Services Organization to create new Cloud Blueprints for Microsoft products, or any other type of software package. Cloud Blueprint libraries are available to all customers free of charge.

About Tier 3

Tier 3 is a complete cloud management platform for mid-tier to large enterprises, as well as SaaS providers. To bring even more value to customers, Tier 3 has combined elements of the traditional enterprise cloud market with those of cloud management platforms. Tier 3’s suite of cloud products and services include advanced management and orchestration enabling our customers to run workloads ranging from simple development and test environments to the most complex and demanding enterprise applications. The Company is based in Bellevue, WA, with regional presence in multiple locations in North America and Europe. www.tier3.com.

Contact

Rob Nachbar
Kismet Communications for Tier 3
206 427 0389
rob@kismetcommunications.net

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