We take our gold-level partnership with Cisco seriously.

C Spire Business invests time and many other resources to cultivating the Cisco relationship, which makes us a better IT provider for industries like education and government. So we are pleased to announce that Cisco is recognizing that dedication by naming C Spire Business the Southeast's Cisco 2018 Partner of the Year.

C Spire Business was selected for our innovation, leadership and best practices in the area of state, local, and education (SLED) information technology sales and service and as a valued Cisco business partner, according to Don Monistere, General Manager of C Spire Business.

Technology providers for businesses should hold their internal practices to a high standard, especially relating to security and threat management. With that in mind, here are four questions business leaders can ask when evaluating how an IT provider approaches security for their internal organization and customers.

C Spire has bolstered its network resources and mobilized employees in case it needs to respond to Hurricane Michael, which is expected to make landfall along the Florida Panhandle this afternoon as the season’s first Category 4 hurricane.

Michael made landfall near Panama City with winds up to 120 mph, storm surge of 9 to 13 feet and rain accumulations of 4 to 8 inches. Mandatory evacuations have been issued and a state of emergency has been declared for 35 Florida coastal counties, four Alabama counties and 92 counties in Georgia in the storm’s path.

C Spire readies its extensive wireless and wireline networks and workforce for a wide range of potential disasters, including major weather events such as hurricanes. The company routinely reviews and updates its emergency preparedness plans and conducts drills throughout the year to test the readiness of its network and employees.

There are multiple paths organizations can take to develop a culture of network security – some more difficult than others. Which will you choose?

C Spire recently completed a major technology upgrade of Mississippi Optical Network (MissiON) – the state’s science and technology research and development consortium of nine state universities, NASA's Stennis Space Center, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers ERDC, and more. The upgrade tripled capacity, cut overall costs, and expanded the size of the network.