Company Establishes Advisory Board to Bolster Award-Winning Indirect Sales Channel
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 22, 2013 – Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT, news, filings) today announced that it has launched the Level 3 Partner Program to bolster the support it provides its indirect sales channel. The Channel Partner Program establishes a new tiered structure for channel partners and Solution Providers, and makes more resources available to them.
The program enhancements are designed to help partners effectively cross-sell the company’s entire portfolio of leading services, including international wide area networks, IP services, collaboration and voice services, and the company’s newly launched security portfolio. Enhanced resources of the program include:
- increased pre-sales design support;
- increased channel manager staff, and
- support for creating end-customer demand.
“Level 3 partners have the ability to grow their businesses by selling on a local, regional, and global level with dedicated, local support,” said Michael Jerich, vice president of the Level 3 Indirect Channel. “They have a vast portfolio of end-to-end solutions in their arsenal that are complemented by new tools, systems, and processes that will augment the selling effort to their customers and will make doing business with us as easy as possible.”
Under the new program, Channel Partners will be categorized using a new, three-pronged tiering structure – Elite, Premier, and Authorized – which is designed to encourage growth and reward partners for loyalty and long-term success; establish revenue commitments for them, and delineate the level of support partners receive. The higher-tiered partners will receive additional benefits, such as:
- account team dedication;
- market development funds;
- leads for new partners, and
- deeper go-to-market support.
Level 3 also has established an enhanced support structure for partners to make it easier for them to do business with the company and, in turn, more quickly serve their customers. Among the program elements that enrich agent support is the creation of an additional channel manager role that:
- complements the efforts of local support teams;
- devotes additional support resources to them, and
- assists joint sales activities.
In addition, an enhanced Partner Experience team will help partners navigate their end-users’ lifecycle management to ensure a high-quality Level 3 customer experience.
Agents also will have access to the Level 3 Partner Portal, which provides them product information, marketing resources, training, and network maps, as well as on-net selling tools and contracts. In addition, the portal gives partners access to an online quoting platform that provides 24×7 access to further enable their selling efforts.
Company Establishes Partner Advisory Board
Additionally, in an effort to enhance its award-winning channel sales program, Level 3 has established a Partner Advisory Board, which serves as a “Think Tank” for the indirect channel that sells Level 3 solutions. This group shares feedback; explores revenue growth strategies; provides updates on company strategy, direction and service roadmaps; facilitates a closer relationship between members and the company; and leverages the power of member feedback to implement change where it may be needed.
“Channel members agree that Level 3’s creation of this new advisory board will help facilitate open communication among its management team and member partners,” said Jay Bradley, advisory board member and president of Telecom Services for Intelisys. “Most importantly, we can provide Level 3 valuable insight into channel partner issues and concerns, which will help strengthen the program and our relationships.
Additional advisory board members are:
Dave Gardner, president, Advantage;
John Cunningham, CEO, BCM;
Ian Kieninger, chief executive officer, AVANT;
Matt Harty, president and chief executive officer, CNSG;
Joel St. Germain, chief executive officer and founder, GCG;
Brad Miehl, CEO, MicroCorp;
Steve Moody, vice president – Carrier Services, Presidio;
John Kirby, president, SCI;
Jerry Goldman, CEO, Select Conferencing;
Shane Heise, CEO, Simplify;
Ed Degenhart, chief operating officer and co-founder, Subsidium;
Ken Mercer, senior vice president, TBI;
Adam Edwards, president, Telarus.
For more information on Level 3’s Partner Program, visit http://www.level3.com/en/partner-programs/business-partners/.
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT) provides local, national and global communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers. Level 3’s comprehensive portfolio of secure, managed solutions includes fiber and infrastructure solutions; IP-based voice and data communications; wide-area Ethernet services; video and content distribution; data center and cloud-based solutions. Level 3 serves customers in more than 450 markets in 45 countries over a global services platform anchored by owned fiber networks on three continents and connected by extensive undersea facilities. For more information, please visit www.level3.com
© Level 3 Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Level 3, Level 3 Communications, Level (3) and the Level 3 Logo either registered service marks or service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC and/or one of its Affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Any other service names, product names, company names or logos included herein are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Level 3 services are provided by subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc.
Website Access to Company Information
Level 3 maintains a corporate website at www.level3.com, and you can find additional information about the company through the Investors pages on that website at http://lvlt.client.shareholder.com/. Level 3 uses its website as a channel of distribution of important information about the company. Level 3 routinely posts financial and other important information regarding the company and its business, financial condition and operations on the Investor Relations web pages.
Visitors to the Investors Relations web pages can view and print copies of Level 3’s SEC filings, including periodic and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, as soon as reasonably practicable after those filings are made with the SEC.
Copies of the charters for each of the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance committees of Level 3’s Board of Directors, its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Ethics, press releases and analysts and investor conference presentations are all available through the Investor Relations web pages.
Please note that the information contained on any of Level 3’s web sites is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be a part of, any document unless expressly incorporated by reference in that document.
Forward-Looking Statement
Some statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature and are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Level 3’s control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. Important factors that could prevent Level 3 from achieving its stated goals include, but are not limited to, the company’s ability to: successfully integrate the Global Crossing acquisition or otherwise realize the anticipated benefits thereof; manage risks associated with continued uncertainty in the global economy; obtain additional financing, particularly in the event of disruptions in the financial markets; manage continued or accelerated decreases in market pricing for communications services; maintain and increase traffic on its network; develop and maintain effective business support systems; manage system and network failures or disruptions; develop new services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; adapt to rapid technological changes that could adversely affect the company’s competitiveness; defend intellectual property and proprietary rights; obtain capacity for its network from other providers and interconnect its network with other networks on favorable terms; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; successfully integrate future acquisitions; effectively manage political, legal, regulatory, foreign currency and other risks it is exposed to due to its substantial international operations; mitigate its exposure to contingent liabilities; and meet all of the terms and conditions of its debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Contact Information
Media: Investors:
Kate Rankin Mark Stoutenberg
+1 973 937-0417 +1 720-888-2518
Kathleen.Rankin@level3.com Mark.Stoutenberg@Level3.com
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