MANKATO, Minn., Dec. 7, 2009 – HickoryTech Corporation (Nasdaq: HTCO), an integrated communications solution provider, announced today that its Enventis subsidiary has achieved Data Center Unified Computing Authorized Technology Provider (ATP) status from Cisco. This designation recognizes Enventis as having fulfilled the training and program prerequisites to sell, deploy and support the Cisco Unified Computing System in the United States.
The
Cisco Unified Computing System unites network, computational, storage access, and
virtualization resources in a single energy-efficient system that can reduce the costs and complexity of information technology (IT) infrastructure, help extend capital assets, and improve business agility well into the future. A new computing model, the Cisco Unified Computing System uses integrated management and combines a “wire once” unified fabric with an industry-standard computing platform to optimize virtualization, reduce the data center’s total overall cost, and provide dynamic resource provisioning for businesses that are becoming increasingly collaborative, mobile and distributed.
“Enventis is excited to be a part of Cisco’s new computing model,” said John Morton, president of HickoryTech’s Business Solutions division. “We understand the importance of a data center for business continuity – ensuring high availability for applications, databases, storage, and security. As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, Enventis is committed to offering enterprise customers a complete data center solution. This new certification allows Enventis to be one of a small number of service providers to offer Cisco’s UCS solution."
“Taking advantage of an architectural shift in the data center, Cisco’s new computing model can help customers transform the data center into a dynamic IT environment with the power to increase productivity, improve efficiency and drive virtualization to an entirely new level,” said John Growdon, director, Worldwide Channels Go-to-Market Group at Cisco. “As a Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Authorized Technology Provider, Enventis is a member of an elite ecosystem of industry leaders working with Cisco to stimulate technology innovation, augment service delivery, and accelerate the market adoption of unified computing.”
To qualify as a Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Authorized Technology Provider, Enventis had to meet a number of requirements, which included: achieving the Cisco Data Center Networking Infrastructure Specialization and the Cisco Data Center Storage Networking Specialization as well as demonstrating mature competencies in server, storage and virtualization technologies.
Enventis specializes in providing integrated communication solutions for businesses of all sizes – from enterprise multi-office organizations to small- and medium-sized businesses. In addition to its statewide fiber optic network, Enventis provides IP communications, transport, data and network integration services that combine voice and data into a single platform – reducing operating costs and enhancing performance. Enventis is a Cisco Gold Certified Partner. To learn more about Enventis, visit
www.enventis.com.
About HickoryTech Corporation
HickoryTech Corporation (dba HickoryTech and Enventis) is a leading integrated communications provider in the markets it serves. With headquarters in Mankato, Minn., the corporation has approximately 450 employees and a regional fiber network with facilities-based operations in Minnesota and Iowa. Enventis serves businesses of all sizes across a five-state region with IP-based voice, data and network solutions. HickoryTech provides bundled residential and business services including high-speed Internet, Digital TV and voice services in its legacy telecom markets. The Company trades on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, symbol: HTCO, and is a member of the Russell 2000 index. For more information, visit
www.hickorytech.com.