CenturyLink, Inc. announced the launch of Managed Office, a user friendly, fully managed IT services and communications network bundle for small and medium-sized business customers that features a game-changing level of customer care typically reserved for large enterprise business customers. Leveraging network, Hosted VoIP and cloud capabilities, Managed Office is the company's first managed services offering geared toward small and medium-sized businesses combining and supporting all of the following features: Managed network and Hosted VoIP: The Managed Office environment is anchored by a single, converged IP network for Internet, data transport and Hosted VoIP voice service backed by solid service level agreements. Network connectivity is delivered via reliable, business-grade Ethernet or other connectivity options available at the customer's choice of speeds; Managed CPE (customer premises equipment): The company provides and maintains hardware, including IP phones, routers, switches and Wi-Fi access points; Hosted apps and cloud-based storage: Reliable cloud-based business applications free IT support from expensive and time-consuming software and server maintenance, creating opportunities to focus on big-picture, revenue-driving priorities.

Managed Office includes hosted email and calendar software, collaboration software and data backup services. Software upgrades are included, and the suite of cloud-based business applications available with Managed Office will continue to be expanded in the future; Security software: Advanced security features are layered throughout the network and applications; Managed install and training: Each Managed Office customer is assigned a dedicated project manager and an account consultant who learns its business, understands its network requirements, manages installation and reviews the first bill. Customers receive personalized service, feature and software training, tailored to their needs and schedule; One-stop support: When service is up and running, trained specialists who work exclusively with Managed Office customers are on-call 24/7 at a dedicated, U.S.-based technical assistance center.

In addition, customers receive ongoing support from a single account consultant who understands their IT services and communications network needs; and scalable per-seat pricing that shifts costs from capital to operating expenses: Managed Office offers a monthly price-per-employee user option that can help make it easy to predict the cost of managing the entire communications network, and businesses can easily scale up or down to meet seasonal needs or accommodate growth. As a monthly operating expense, Managed Office reduces the total cost of ownership for IT services by eliminating up-front capital investments or ongoing maintenance on equipment that could break or become obsolete.