Level 3 continues to gain momentum in the growing content delivery network (CDN) space and winning a contract with BMW to provide services between the German car manufacturer's headquarters and over 4,000 dealers reflects that trend.
BMW's move to use Level 3's CDN is part of a large infrastructure upgrade project that it said is tailored to its "precise requirements."
The CDN service will be used to send large volumes of high-bandwidth data to its global dealers, replacing the DVD-based distribution that the company used for a number of years.
Dealers can use the information to access key information, configure vehicles for customers, apply software patches or upgrade navigation systems. By delivering the information this way, BMW said that it can further increase dealer and customer satisfaction, while leading to cost savings.
One of the key benefits for BMW and its dealers is it accelerates each dealer's ability to respond quicker to customer requirements. BMW staff can upload relevant information to the Level 3 storage platform and then dealers can connect to the platform following authentication. From there the solution can automatically detect where the dealer is located and will select a server, while the CDN solution then checks the web URL and login credentials of the dealer, who can then download the data in seconds.
Besides the CDN project, Level 3 provided fiber cables that connect BMW's headquarters directly to the Level 3 global network, including two additional routers located directly at BMW's premises in Munich. Having these routers in place will ensure protection against downtime and the ability to provide the right amount of bandwidth to its global partners.
In preparing for the new network implementation, Level 3 and BMW have installed DWDM equipment at BMW's headquarters.
Winning deals like this one with BMW illustrates the work Level 3 has done to transform itself as a larger competitor to multi-national business customers. During its fourth-quarter earnings period, enterprise services were the key revenue driver in its Core Network Services (CNS) segment, rising 10 percent to $1.01 billion.
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