Verizon Business and Cisco Team to Help Enterprises Succeed

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Business, a leader in designing and managing Cisco-based communications solutions for large-business and government customers, now has a total of 13 Cisco managed services designations. This further underscores Verizon Business’ commitment to industry and market-leading best practices, while helping the company’s customers address the complexity of Internet protocol (IP) networks to drive operational performance.

Coveted among managed service providers worldwide, Cisco managed services designations demonstrate to customers that a service provider has the skill set and capabilities necessary to successfully deploy and manage IP-based networks built using Cisco technologies. Verizon Business currently holds six Cisco® Powered designations and seven additional managed services designations. Among global service providers, Verizon Business holds one of the broadest sets of Cisco managed services designations.

Verizon Business’ managed services designations fall within five strategic areas and include:

• Managed Connectivity Services – Managed MPLS-VPN, Managed Internet Services, Managed IP Trunking, Managed Router, Managed IPSec-VPN, Managed LAN and Managed ATM/Frame Relay.
• Managed Security Services – Managed Firewall, Managed IDS & IPS and Managed Secure Router.
• Managed Unified Communications Services – Managed Business Communications.
• Managed Data Center Services – Managed WAAS.
• Managed Mobile Communications Services – Managed Wireless LAN.

“Obtaining Cisco managed services designations is one more way that we can help customers do more with less in these tough economic times,” said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president – global business products, Verizon. “Coupled with our extensive managed-services portfolio and the expertise of our professional-services personnel, these important Cisco designations enable Verizon to work with our enterprise customers to design, deploy and support advanced communications solutions to help enhance employee productivity and drive operational and financial performance.”

In addition to providing customers around the globe with a consistent set of Cisco-based capabilities and expertise, the company is poised to secure Cisco Gold certified partner status worldwide in 2009. This will enable Verizon Business to gain access to the full complement of extensive sales, technical and life-cycle training and support services offered by Cisco.

Verizon Business is a Cisco Gold certified partner in North America and achieved a similar status in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in late 2008. The company also expects to achieve certification for the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

“The combination of Verizon Business and Cisco delivers a powerful set of managed services enabled by an IP next-generation network architecture that helps enterprises control costs, bolster productivity and enhance their competitive advantage in a highly dynamic and challenging economic environment,” said Jeffrey Spagnola, vice president of worldwide managed services, Cisco. “Verizon Business’ customers gain an additional level of assurance regarding the quality of their managed services enabled by Cisco – services built on the industry’s high architectural standards and best practices.”

Verizon Business manages 270,000-plus security, network and hosting devices across more than 4,000 customer networks spanning 142 countries and territories, overseeing non-Verizon connections from more than 60 network providers worldwide. Verizon Business’ managed network services are backed by industry-leading service-level commitments and the company’s award-winning IMPACT management platform.

Verizon Business also offers a standardized set of more than 50 professional-service capabilities in 30 countries around the globe. Delivered through 2,700 specially trained and experienced consultants in five key practice areas – security services, IT services, network integration and engineering, IP communications and contact center services – these services help customers successfully deploy and manage advanced networks and technologies.

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.

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