Verizon Business Placed in Analyst Firm's Leaders Quadrant for Asia-Pacific Network Service Providers

SINGAPORE - Leading industry analyst firm Gartner Inc. has placed Verizon Business in the Leaders quadrant among Asia-Pacific network services providers in Gartner's new report, "Magic Quadrant for Asia-Pacific Network Service Providers, 2009."¹

The report evaluates providers of international network services to multinational companies (MNCs) with pan-regional networks in the Asia-Pacific region. The providers focus on data services, especially IP virtual private networks (VPNs) and, increasingly, Ethernet offerings. Most of these providers also offer voice services, especially voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and IP telephony in association with IP virtual private networks.

According to Gartner, providers positioned in the Leaders quadrant "demonstrate strong vision, especially in terms of defining future market needs. They back their vision by investing ahead of competitors in new or unproven areas, and are generally better positioned for the future. However, significant differences exist between the Leaders in terms of strategy and execution, and none excel in all areas. There is no strong leader and the long-term outcome is not clear in view of the differences between them." Gartner notes in the report that "Network service providers in the Asia-Pacific region continued to make big improvements in the past year. MNCs have a wide choice of service providers, offering better network service quality and competitive prices. In addition, most providers have rolled out managed services for enterprises with needs beyond connectivity."

Andrew Dobbins, Verizon Business regional vice president, Asia-Pacific, said: "Verizon Business in Asia-Pacific is going from strength to strength.  We are seeing strong organic growth in the region, thanks to our continued investment in network infrastructure, innovative solutions and services and, of course, our people to support our customers evolving business requirements. We are continuing to invest across the Asia-Pacific region to enhance network reliability and performance; we are also seeing a strong take-up of our managed services portfolio, as customers look to leverage our extensive skills base to maximize their productivity in difficult economic times.

"Our comprehensive solutions portfolio and industry-leading security services are supported by professional global account teams and robust online and offline customer service provisions to offer our customers in Asia-Pacific, and around the globe, a compelling value proposition."

This latest Leaders quadrant placement follows Verizon Business' recent Leaders quadrant position in the "Magic Quadrant for Global Network Service Providers,"² and "Magic Quadrant for Pan-European Network Service Providers."³

About the Magic Quadrant
The Magic Quadrants are copyrighted 2008 and 2009 by Gartner, Inc. and are reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world's most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions.  We securely connect today's extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees - enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment.  Many of the world's largest businesses and governments - including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions - rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.

¹ Gartner Research "Magic Quadrant for Asia Pacific Network Service Providers," April 24, 2009, author To Chee-Eng.
² Gartner Research "Magic Quadrant for Global Network Service Providers," January 23, 2009, authors - Neil Rickard and Robert Mason. 
³ Gartner Research "Magic Quadrant for Pan-European Network Service Providers", December 9, 2008, authors - Neil Rickard and Katja Ruud.