now happening at c spire

C Spire Business Solutions Earns VMware Hybrid Cloud-Powered Certification to Support its Extensive Suite of Backbone Cloud Infrastructure Platforms

2016-11-11

Technology firm says application can greatly reduce downtime and associated business disruptions by allowing enterprises to move workloads back and forth from private to virtualized environments

Ridgeland, Mississippi (November 11, 2016) – C Spire Business Solutions (CSBS) is now part of the VMware Hybrid Cloud Powered network after recent certification of the technology company’s secure cloud services program by the virtualization giant.

VMware’s NSX™ network virtualization platform is the backbone of C Spire’s suite of cloud services for enterprises ranging from infrastructure and virtual data center platforms to back up, disaster recovery and business continuity services. NSX’s micro-segmentation, automation and fine-grained security controls provide unparalleled speed, agility and security with lower overhead costs for customers.

Virtualization is a common practice in modern IT and makes multiple isolated environments possible on the same hardware. The VMware SDDC technology solutions help C Spire take the software-defined data center to a new level and are the backbone of its virtual data center service, which allows businesses to instantiate compute, memory and storage component services as independent, configurable, customer-defined resources.

When implemented in conjunction with traditional remote virtual servers and infrastructure, this approach allows businesses to provision resources, scale capability and manage assets without the unnecessary expense and challenges of maintaining on-premise hardware.

Operational risks and security threats associated with maintaining, servicing and operating on premises hardware, such as failures, ransomware, natural disasters and human error can disrupt or even shut down critical business operations, said Brian Caraway, senior vice president of Enterprise Markets for C Spire. “Businesses need comprehensive IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) solutions delivered on a highly flexible, workload-by-workload basis with the mobility optimized in hybrid cloud infrastructure,” he added.

Caraway said the services offered by C Spire should be a cornerstone of every enterprise’s cloud strategy. “Hybrid cloud service deployments focused on infrastructure, service orchestration and disaster recovery are paramount for business’ well-being and firms need to honestly assess their risks and vulnerabilities before an incident occurs,” he said, adding that Gartner expects global spending on IT security to rise by 8 percent this year, up from just under 5 percent in 2015.

As a member of VMware’s vCloud Air Network program, C Spire provides its VMware hybrid cloud powered application as a set of cloud computing services across a common IaaS platform, supporting the largest set of existing applications and offering distinctive application mobility.

“Our customers have the flexibility to move workloads back and forth from their VMware VSphere-based virtualized or private cloud environment into our VMware hybrid cloud powered service,” Caraway said. “This application portability is a key differentiator and gives customers the flexibility, security and increased IT agility they need in today’s competitive landscape.”

Caraway said the IaaS platform is supported by the company’s new purpose built, Uptime Institute-certified Tier 3 commercial data center, which meets SOC, HIPAA and PCI requirements. The Starkville, Mississippi center, the only one of its class within a 250 mile radius of its location, uses premium providers on all critical systems.

With VMware’s unified hybrid cloud platform featuring VMware NSX, C Spire has doubled the speed at which their customers onboard and, at the same time, simplified and improved the company’s network architecture and management without sacrificing performance or security.

“Backup and disaster recovery can be the most critical linchpin in a company’s cloud strategy,” said Jim Aluotto, director of service providers for VMware Americas, noting that the VMware hybrid cloud powered technical badge was developed to help service partners differentiate their suite of enterprise-class cloud services.

“The enhancements we have made to our platform, combined with our state-of-the-art data center and significant buried fiber network, positions C Spire as the premier business continuity cloud for the Southeast,” Caraway said.

C Spire Business Solutions offers businesses a comprehensive suite of enterprise-grade communications solutions for voice, data, mobile and cloud services. For more information on IaaS, go to www.cspire.com/cloud.

About C Spire Business Solutions
C Spire Business Solutions offers businesses a comprehensive suite of enterprise-grade technology solutions for IP voice, dedicated Internet access, wireless 4G LTE and a suite of cloud-based services. The business unit provides advanced technology business-to-business sales, service, support and account management through dedicated, knowledgeable teams who live and work nearby and who understand the complex needs, markets and challenges facing individual businesses. For more information about C Spire Business Solutions and its products and services, visit www.cspire.com/business, call 855-CSPIRE2 (277-4732) or email enterprisesales@cspire.com.