Windstream Enterprise - WE Connect

Company: Windstream Enterprise, Little Rock, AR
Entry Submitted By: Feed Media
Company Description: Today, every company is in the technology business; whether they want to be or not. This puts pressure on IT leaders to deliver solutions to solve complex new strategic challenges And even more pressure on their networks. At Windstream Enterprise, we saw these challenges as opportunities. So WE made it our own business to deliver the responsiveness and agility that digital transformation demands.
Nomination Category: New Product & Service Categories - Business Technology
Nomination Sub Category: IT Service Management Solution

Nomination Title: Windstream Enterprise - WE Connect

As a provider of advanced network and communications solutions and services that enable enterprises to transform their businesses, Windstream Enterprise set out to do what many of its competitors in the digital communications realm had not: Give customers a unified portal through which to easily and efficiently view, interact with and manage their network and the various services and assets attached to it, and in doing so, give them the strategic insight and tools they need for a successful digital transformation.

Mission accomplished. In early 2019, Windstream Enterprise (WE) launched WE Connect, which delivers on the elusive “single pane of glass” customer portal construct with a best-in-class customer digital experience. Instead of siloed workloads, functionalities, data resources and apps with no single, integrated platform to access, analyze and control them, WE Connect and its accompanying mobile app provide Windstream Enterprise customers — from banking and healthcare to retail and hospitality — a revolutionary set of tools to view and manage services such as SD-WAN, Cloud Security, OfficeSuite UC® Unified Communications, WiFi, CCaaS, along with other cloud-based services and apps.

Powerful online and mobile-enabled controls embedded in WE Connect come together in a single, intuitive interface that puts customers squarely in the network driver’s seat. Through users customizable dashboards and self-service controls guided by AI/bot technology, they gain access to key network usage data and advanced analytics, such as SD-WAN aggregate reporting across all locations for sites, quality of experience, applications, client devices and destinations in real time, enabling them to identify and act upon changing conditions and trends across the network, and in doing so, to maximize their digital resources on an enterprise-wide basis. Other unique features of WE Connect:

• SEAMLESSNESS: One/one/one access: one login, one portal and one interface for all user types, across all products and services.
• ACCESSIBILITY: Mobile-forward design for anytime/anywhere/any device access.
• CONTROL: Rich self-service controls where customers can view and pay their bill, track/advance orders, change network policies, forward calls, build a phone system, create/update cases, create/manage user access, add/buy hosted services, repoint toll-free numbers, and more.
• SECURE: Industry best secure administrative access, PCI certified solutions, and 2-Factor Authentication to keep your information safe
• AWARE: Always on and working for you 24/7/365 days a year, intelligent monitoring and customizable notifications and reporting to manage your business

Besides customer-facing analytics tools, WE Connect also generates advanced site analytics that stream back to Windstream Enterprise, giving it the insight it needs to continue to improve the platform to ensure it delivers the elevated experience customers expect.

Developed with extensive feedback from Windstream’s enterprise customers, WE Connect is receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews from those customers. In particular, they say having the ability within the portal to create personalized experiences that align to the way they think and operate, and to have vital business resources at their fingertips, makes managing, and gaining insight from, their network a straightforward and time-efficient undertaking.

They also like the fact that WE Connect functions as a natural extension of the full suite of integrated managed services, and the consultative, service-based approach that Windstream Enterprise provides to its customers. Those customers include the close to 2,000 enterprises (and tens of thousands of locations) that use Windstream Enterprise’s award-winning SD-WAN network solution, along with some 500,000 UCaaS seats.

WE Connect has made many of those customers happy they have Windstream Enterprise as a partner in their digital and network transformation efforts.

In bullet-list form, briefly summarize up to ten (10) of the chief features and benefits of the nominated product or service (up to 150 words):

• In July 2018, WE surpassed 1,000 mid-size and enterprise customers for its SD-WAN solution.
• In August 2018, WE’s XCaaS Powered-by-Avaya service was named 2018 Unified Communications Product of the Year by TMC.
• In September 2018, WE announced its SD-WAN service attained Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Version 3.2 compliance, one of the first SD-WAN providers to earn the designation.
• In October 2018, WE earned a contract to supply network and communications solutions to schools and government agencies in the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) purchasing cooperative.
• In December 2018, WE surpassed 500,000 seats across its UCaas solutions.
• In February 2019, WE earned the 2019 SD-WAN Implementation Award from Internet Telephony for its work helping transportation/logistics company Beavex implement SD-WAN across the U.S.