Lumen reimagines legacy data as dynamic, digital assembly line with Azure Synapse Analytics

Lumen Technologies is a multinational technology leader that provides one of the fastest, most secure platforms for next-gen apps and data.

This explosive growth, however, came in part through multiple acquisitions over a period of years, leading to several challenges, including finding a way to integrate the disparate analytics systems of 20 acquired companies.

It’s one thing to gather and deliver data and quite another to learn and grow from it. So, Lumen needed a single pane of glass to bridge systems and meet customers’ needs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics rose to the challenge and provided Lumen with the efficiency, visibility, and scale necessary to streamline workflows and better serve customers.

“Our customers and their end customers require speed, low latency services, and applications. That’s driving change.”

Ophir Rahmani, Senior Vice President, Service Delivery, Lumen

Multiple companies, one analytics solution

Within Lumen Technologies, Tammy Nyman, Vice President, Shared Services, and Ryan Jones, Director, Disconnects and Business Operations, were tasked by Ophir Rahmani, Senior Vice President, Service Delivery, to consolidate these various platforms into one. In need of a single solution, they turned to Azure Synapse Analytics.

Lumen’s challenge in a word? Workflow.

Processes took longer than necessary, or data hit roadblocks and bottlenecks. Inefficiencies and redundancies led to work orders slowly snaking their way through the Service Delivery cycle. The result? Service slowed, leading to decreased conversion rates and lower customer satisfaction. Something needed to change.

“Lumen is a conglomeration of multiple companies and different systems. One of our key metrics is how long it takes us to deliver service. In order to do that, we created a program that holds the teams more accountable to their specific segments.”

Ryan Jones, Director, Disconnects and Business Operations, Lumen

Says Rahmani, “Our customers’ desire for speed and low-latency services was really driving change. Old-school ways of sharing and gathering information via phone and email were on their way out. Lumen is a technology company that sells solutions on top of our platform, and the pandemic simply sped up that process.”

Enter Intelligent Digital Delivery (iDD), an Azure Synapse Analytics–based platform, custom-built by Lumen, that pulls different data sources into a single dashboard for stakeholders across the organization. Processes that used to be manual and cumbersome became nimble and automated. Whereas before, disparate teams accessed and acted upon data in silos, iDD unified Lumen under a single, customer-focused culture.

“The data is there to tell the story. With Azure Synapse Analytics, we can utilize functionality and really begin to drive improvements.”

Tammy Nyman, Vice President, Shared Services, Lumen

A virtual assembly line working at full speed

“As you think about workflow, network as a service, and the way we are moving forward in our digital transformation, iDD is smack dab in the middle of it,” says Rahmani.

Jones’s background in manufacturing helped him naturally conceive iDD as a virtual assembly line. Azure Synapse Analytics empowers Lumen teams to see various parts of the assembly line on the fly.

Stakeholders can now access the data they need to deliver results for their customers and can rest assured that each data piece is integrated with the greater picture. No second guessing or redundant work—just custom solutions at scale.

Says Jones, “With iDD, supported by Azure Synapse Analytics, internal stakeholders can view everything in the delivery funnel and sort by product, order, revenue, or team. The ability to pull analytics around our process flow wasn’t something we were able to do before. Having all the information mapped out and standardized within iDD gives us the ability to build and view specific reporting items we need in one place.”

Nyman, a key sponsor, noticed immediately how Azure Synapse Analytics pulled together data from various sources, and she was tasked with overseeing the program and attaining executive support. As the business champion of the program, Nyman shared, “Getting the teams to work together for one common goal and seeing the vision of where we’re going was key. This tool really helped us drive that culture across our operations organizations, not just within one team.”

“Ultimately, if we do everything faster, we’re going to hit most of our metrics and meet the needs and satisfaction of our customers, too.”

Ryan Jones, Director, Disconnects and Business Operations, Lumen

A culture of innovation and customer service

Lumen’s custom iDD tool isn’t just about digital transformation. It’s about cultural transformation, as well.

Of course, improving speed of service and decreasing intervals equals positive trend lines when it comes to revenue. According to Jones, Lumen has seen 10 to 15 percent improvements in metrics related to key intervals. Increased revenue creates even more opportunities for innovation and future growth.

Now that Lumen has consolidated and streamlined its analytics platforms, Azure Synapse Analytics is empowering new approaches to predictive modeling. Using it also creates opportunities for Lumen to take advantage of other Azure offerings, including Azure Databricks and Azure Machine Learning.

Intelligent Digital Delivery Architecture

Figure 1. Solution architecture diagram featuring the data sources, data flow, and technology services that make up the iDD platform

More about this diagram

Azure doesn’t just represent a way for Lumen to get its digital house in order. It points the way to growth and innovation. Partnering with Microsoft not only addressed legacy problems for Lumen but also expanded the company’s horizons by unifying teams around shared opportunities.

According to Rahmani, “We’re even looking at taking iDD and integrating it with some of our other core applications. As we build out the future of digital transformation within service delivery, I certainly see iDD as the hub of the wheel.”

Adds Jones, “The program is bringing everyone together, and we’re eager to see how it evolves.”

“We have roughly 200 to 250 different products, and within each of those products, between 10 and 50 different configurations or use cases. We needed a tool that could level the playing field.”

Ophir Rahmani, Senior Vice President, Service Delivery, Lumen