CRN Channel Awards Asia - Finalist Q&A with Francis Thangasamy, Managing Director - APAC at Lumen Technologies
Francis Thangasamy talks being finalists at this year's CRN Channel Awards Asia
Why do you think awards like the Channel Awards Asia matter? What would winning this award mean to your company?
Awards such as CRN Channel Awards Asia recognise leadership and innovation that drive transformation across the channel ecosystem. For Lumen, winning this award would highlight our contribution to the channel ecosystem, and reinforces our role as trusted transformation partners in building the backbone of the AI economy for enterprise customers.
What would you say is your company’s proudest achievement over the past year?
This year, we have not only expanded our partner ecosystem across ASEAN, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan, but we have also seen a significant growth through these channels.
Along with this, we have also seen a 16% year-on-year rise in our Net Promoter Score, and we have also been recognised as a Great Place to Work across our key APAC offices.
All of these clearly highlight the success we’ve had this year on enabling our partners, enhancing the customer experience and having a highly engaged workforce, which are all essential to being a successful MSSP partner.
What have been the biggest challenges of 2025 so far and how have you overcome them?
2025 has brought about its share of challenges, from persistent economic headwinds driven by geopolitical shifts, to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and rising customer expectations. However, with challenge, comes opportunity.
The surge in AI adoption has accelerated demand for higher bandwidth, greater compute capacity and more advanced cybersecurity capabilities. At Lumen, we have responded decisively by upgrading our global network infrastructure capabilities and deepening our ecosystem of strategic partners.
Security remains a cornerstone of our transformation. We’ve expanded our DDoS scrubbing capacity to over 170 Tbps, deployed Advanced Managed Detection and Response (AMDR) across key markets, and enhanced our Black Lotus Labs (BLL) threat intelligence capabilities to proactively counter emerging threats. Our regional Security Operations Centres (SOCs) now operate with 80% automation, enabling faster, smarter threat mitigation.
These efforts have not only strengthened our resilience but also improved customer experience, reflected in a continued rise in our Net Promoter Score. By staying agile, investing in innovation, and collaborating strategically, we’re helping our customers thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
How have your people helped with that?
Our people are the driving force behind every innovation, every solution, and every customer success story here. As we've navigated a year marked by economic shifts and an escalating cyber threat landscape, our teams have been dedicated to engineering the solutions that not only keep our mutual customers ahead but also create new opportunities for our channel partners.
We’ve cultivated a culture of continuous learning and innovation, underpinned by our Lumen 8 behaviours, which empower our people to lead with agility, curiosity, and accountability. Programmes such as Lumen University, Kaizen training, and dedicated mentorship cohorts are designed to empower our teams to provide the specialised expertise and forward-thinking support that our partners need to solve complex customer challenges.
Through initiatives like Lumen Innovate, our teams have played a pivotal role in co-creating solutions that enhance operations and elevate customer experience. From expanding our DDoS capabilities to deploying Advanced Managed Detection and Response (AMDR), these advancements are not just technical but new, high-value offerings that our partners can take to market. Our security professionals—SOC analysts, threat hunters, and engineers—log over 300 hours of training annually, ensuring our partners are always supported by best-in-class expertise.
Ultimately, our people are central to building a resilient, secure, and future-ready ecosystem for our customers and partners.
How do you think the channel has changed over the past year and what changes do you think it still needs to make?
The channel has undergone a significant shift over the past year, moving from transactional engagements to strategic transformation partnerships.
This shift is driven by enterprise customers who are demanding end-to-end solutions, particularly in critical areas like cybersecurity, cloud-readiness, and AI adoption. As a result, partners are no longer just solution provider – they are now co-creators of value for the end customer.
At Lumen, we've mirrored this trend by expanding our own partner ecosystem to include more security and hyperscaler alliances. Our modular services and infrastructure investments enable us to meet this shift head-on, ensuring our partners have the tools to deliver comprehensive, outcome-driven solutions.
Looking ahead, in this AI era, stronger collaboration between partners and a deeper understanding of the ecosystem for co-creating solutions is required for longer term success. This means moving beyond product-centric conversations to a deeper understanding of each other's business and the specific problems we are solving for customers. We need to focus on co-investing in innovation and nurturing a shared talent pool through initiatives like joint talent development, embedded consulting, and lifecycle advisory services. Success will be built on a mindset of ecosystem collaboration and treating data as a shared asset, where partners work together not just to deliver technology, but to drive tangible, long-term outcomes for our customers.
What do you see as the main opportunities for the channel in te coming year?
The biggest opportunities for the channel in the coming year lie in enabling secure, AI-powered digital transformation. As enterprises shift from point solutions to strategic orchestration, partners have a unique chance to build cohesive, end-to-end strategies that integrate compute, capacity, security, and data intelligence.
In APAC, demand is accelerating across finance, healthcare, and government for intelligent, compliant architectures. Partners can lead by helping customers modernise hybrid infrastructure, manage cloud-native environments, and deploy AI workloads with confidence—while mitigating evolving cyber threats.
At Lumen, we’re co-investing with partners to deliver modular services, API-enabled platforms, and AI-ready connectivity. Our footprint includes 44 Network PoPs across 15 APAC countries, with plans to expand further strategically, regional SOCs, and strategic alliances with hyperscalers and regional security providers. Together, we’re empowering the channel to deliver resilient, scalable outcomes in the AI era.
How do you plan to capitalise on those opportunities?
We're doubling down on building advanced capabilities and deepening strategic investments to empower our partners in the AI era.
On the capability front, we’re investing in expanding our APAC network infrastructure capabilities to enable AI workloads globally through our AS3356 global backbone, the world’s most interconnected network. This would also support secure digital transformation across hybrid environments. This also includes expanding our AI-ready connectivity and modernising our security operations to help partners deliver resilient, compliant outcomes. We're also co-creating modular, API-enabled solutions with strategic partners—ensuring they’re scalable, interoperable, and tailored to enterprise needs.
AI is central to our strategy. We’ve made significant global and regional investments to embed AI across our platforms, enabling partners and customers to harness data, automate operations, and accelerate innovation. This includes advanced threat mitigation, intelligent application deployment, and improved digital experiences.
In APAC, we’re scaling managed security services, expanding our API-enabled platforms, and leveraging our extensive network infrastructure and deep partnerships with leading hyperscalers. These investments position our partners to build cohesive, end-to-end strategies that support secure AI adoption in high-growth sectors like finance, healthcare, and government.
Ultimately, our approach is about co-investing and co-innovating with our partners—giving them the tools, platforms, and intelligence they need to lead confidently in the AI economy.
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