Flexential and Lumen Expand Network-as-a-Service Capabilities for Businesses
Charlotte, N.C. – March 26, 2025 – Flexential, a leading provider of secure and flexible data center solutions, and Lumen Technologies (LUMN), have expanded on-demand networking services to new businesses. Lumen’s Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform is now integrated with Flexential’s FlexAnywhere® platform, allowing Flexential customers to instantly purchase, use, and manage Lumen networking services.
“Lumen and Flexential are bringing Network-as-a-Service capabilities to businesses looking for the flexibility, security, and agility that on-demand connections provide,” said Dave Ward, Lumen Chief Technology and Product Officer. “Lumen NaaS is transforming the way businesses manage connectivity, offering a quick and easy network buying experience to solve business challenges and manage growing connectivity demands being driven by AI.”
Organizations in all Flexential data centers, more than 42 FlexAnywhere® locations, now have access to scalable, on-demand network services, enhanced connectivity for remote and endpoint locations, and customized software-defined bandwidth solutions through a cloud-like buying experience from Lumen.
“Today’s enterprise customers are seeking platforms that foster collaboration and innovation with their partners,” said Ryan Mallory, COO at Flexential. “By partnering with Lumen, we’re expanding the FlexAnywhere® platform with additional carrier destinations on our Cloud Fabric. This partnership underscores our commitment to building an open ecosystem that supports customer choice and flexibility. With these expansions, we’re delivering a next-generation interconnection solution that is both customer-driven and automated, empowering our customers to scale with ease.”
Lumen NaaS nodes will be physically located in Flexential’s Hillsboro, OR, Aurora, CO, and Plano, TX data centers, and customers colocated in any Flexential data center will be able to access Lumen NaaS using Flexential’s private backbone. The Lumen NaaS portfolio includes Internet On-Demand, DDoS Essentials, Lumen Defender and Ethernet On- Demand. All services are available to customers within the Lumen partner ecosystem.
According to Gartner®, “By 2026, 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities, an increase from under 10% in mid-2023.” This highlights the growing importance of interconnection-led and software-defined infrastructure, especially as the data industry transitions to fabric-based models. In this approach, a single port can offer multiple services, while API- and portal-based controls enable intuitive customer experiences—all consolidated within a unified platform.
Flexential’s FlexAnywhere platform enables customers to interconnect to their ecosystems and access their digital infrastructure quickly and easily for improved operational efficiency. This partnership follows Flexential’s other recent milestones as part of an ongoing expansion of its interconnectivity offerings such as the launch of Flexential Fabric and the industry’s first bilateral peering pathway to Wasabi Technologies.
Additional Information:
Flexential interconnection capabilities: Network Performance and Interconnection | Flexential
Lumen Network-as-a-Service: Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) for Data Centers | Lumen
Gartner®, Hype Cycle™ for I&O Automation, 2024, 26 July 2024. GARTNER and Hype Cycle are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
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About Flexential
Flexential empowers the IT journey of the most complex businesses by offering customizable IT solutions designed for today’s demanding high-density computing requirements. With colocation, cloud, connectivity, data protection, and professional services, the FlexAnywhere® platform anchors our services in 42 data centers across 19 highly connected markets on a 100Gbps private network backbone. Flexential solutions are strategically engineered to meet the most stringent challenges in security, compliance, and resiliency. Experience the power of IT flexibility and how we enable digital transformation at www.flexential.com.
About Lumen Technologies
Lumen is unleashing the world’s digital potential. We ignite business growth by connecting people, data, and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. As the trusted network for AI, Lumen uses the scale of our network to help companies realize AI’s full potential. From metro connectivity to long-haul data transport to our edge cloud, security, managed service, and digital platform capabilities, we meet our customers’ needs today and as they build for tomorrow. For news and insights visit news.lumen.com, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, X: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies, and YouTube: /lumentechnologies.
Media Contacts
Alison Brooker
Corporate Marketing
Christian Rizzo
Gregory FCA for Flexential
Courtney Morton
Corporate Communications