-- Surge in online video content spurs more cloud adoption

CenturyLink, Inc. ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2422612-1&h=4181859224&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.centurylink.com%2F&a=CenturyLink%2C+Inc. 
) (NYSE: CTL) announced the expansion of its cloud connectivity and services 
portfolio to include IBM Cloud Object Storage platform. With the addition of 
this storage option, CenturyLink can offer media and entertainment companies a 
more scalable, highly-available, and secure way to improve the management and 
delivery of their content globally.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628320/CENTURYLINK_Logo.jpg  

As media viewership grows and people increasingly prefer to consume 
entertainment on mobile devices, media and entertainment companies are 
rethinking how they can support and deliver greater volumes of high-quality 
content to customers worldwide. With reports ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2422612-1&h=2981371164&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cisco.com%2Fc%2Fen%2Fus%2Fsolutions%2Fcollateral%2Fservice-provider%2Fvisual-networking-index-vni%2Fwhite-paper-c11-738429.html&a=reports 
) indicating content delivery networks (CDNs) will carry 72 percent of internet 
traffic by 2022, the need for a hybrid cloud approach that includes cloud-based 
storage and workflows to support that growth has spiked.

IBM Cloud Object Storage offers CenturyLink customers a centralized, resilient, 
scalable solution so they can be confident in their ability to manage and move 
content securely and at high-speed. IBM Cloud Object Storage can handle content 
libraries of virtually any size for seamless management and delivery, which is 
particularly important to media and entertainment companies that need to 
rapidly move and manage large, complex and sensitive data. 

"Providing high-performance, geographically-diverse origin storage is critical 
to achieving great user experiences when attempting to reach global audiences 
-- particularly when it comes to serving fast-growing regions like Latin 
America and Asia-Pacific," said Bill Wohnoutka, vice president of global 
internet and content delivery solutions for CenturyLink. "IBM Cloud Object 
Storage combined with CenturyLink's rapidly expanding global CDN footprint 
offers our customers a scalable, highly-available and resilient option to 
improve user experience for content delivery globally." 

Today's news builds on CenturyLink's decision last year ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2422612-1&h=2883008918&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.centurylink.com%2F2018-08-01-CenturyLink-Connects-Enterprises-to-IBM-Cloud&a=CenturyLink%27s+decision+last+year 
) to deliver secure, dedicated, and private network connectivity to the IBM 
Cloud through CenturyLink Cloud Connect solutions.

"The media and entertainment industry faces unique challenges today in the way 
content is consumed and the sheer volume of data that must be transferred at 
any moment," said Phil Buckellew, GM, IBM Cloud Object Storage and Databases. 
"With the integration of IBM Cloud Object Storage, CenturyLink can now offer 
its customers even more options in how they move and manage their data across 
environments. This kind of hybrid cloud approach is critical as they look to 
keep pace with booming viewership and shifting preferences."

Key Facts 

    -- The launch of the availability of IBM Cloud Object Storage supports 
       CenturyLink's strategy to provide a one-stop-shop for comprehensive 
       cloud and networking solutions. 

    -- In addition to IBM Cloud Object Storage, CenturyLink customers can 
       take advantage of the services offered through the IBM Cloud via 
       CenturyLink's Cloud Connect solutions, 
       https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/cloud-connect.html, 
       which allows for real-time addition and deletion of private Ethernet 
       connections to cloud service providers. 

    -- Additional cloud offerings from CenturyLink include: 
       - Multi-cloud management, 
https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/multi-cloud-management.html 

       - Private cloud, 
https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/private-cloud.html 
       - Public cloud, 
https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/public-cloud.html 
       - Bare metal servers, 
https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud/bare-metal-cloud.html 
       - SaaS applications 
       - Cloud connectivity services 

    -- CenturyLink's CDN: 
       - Delivered ~42.8 exabytes of data globally in 2018. 
       - Answered 74.4 trillion requests globally for content like videos or 
         photos in 2018. 
       - Saw global year-over-year peak traffic growth (from 15.75 Tbps in 
         2017 to 27.98 Tbps in 2018). 
       - Provides 40+ Tbps of total edge capacity across 6 continents in 
         more than 100 major cities. 
       - Offers 60 petabytes of storage.

Additional Resources

    -- To learn more about CenturyLink's new IBM cloud object storage 
       offering, visit: www.centurylink.com/cdn 
    -- To learn more about CenturyLink's cloud services portfolio, visit: 
       https://www.centurylink.com/business/hybrid-it-cloud.html 

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2422612-1&h=3479682103&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.centurylink.com%2F&a=CenturyLink 
) (NYSE: CTL) is the second largest U.S. communications provider to global 
enterprise customers. With customers in more than 60 countries and an intense 
focus on the customer experience, CenturyLink strives to be the world's best 
networking company by solving customers' increased demand for reliable and 
secure connections. The company also serves as its customers' trusted partner, 
helping them manage increased network and IT complexity and providing managed 
network and cyber security solutions that help protect their business.

SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.

CONTACT: CenturyLink: Francie Dudrey, +1-720-226-4242, 
Francie.dudrey@centurylink.com; or IBM: Tyler Allen, +1-703-895-4272, 
tballen@us.ibm.com