Turning vision into value: how Lumen powers North Highland’s global reach
For more than three decades, North Highland has helped organizations turn vision into measurable value, designing and delivering change with a people-first approach. But as the global consultancy expanded to more than 50 offices and 2,000 professionals worldwide, its IT team faced a challenge: how to keep consultants connected, agile and ready for anything in a rapidly evolving digital economy.
“Our infrastructure is the backbone of North Highland’s mission,” said Director of Infrastructure Jason LePage. “We provide the endpoints, data controls and network access that enable our consultants to deliver exceptional client experiences. That means we need technology that adapts as fast as our business does.”
A connectivity challenge: Global scale, rising complexity
North Highland’s reputation is built on client-centricity and operational agility. But as the firm embraced cloud services and remote work, legacy circuits and rigid connectivity models couldn’t keep pace.
“We needed a solution that was flexible, scalable and simple to manage,” LePage explained.
The answer came in the form of Lumen® Network-as-a-Service (NaaS)—a platform designed for businesses that demand agility without compromise.
NaaS powers flexibility and control
With Lumen NaaS, North Highland gained the ability to scale bandwidth on demand, consolidate old DIA circuits and manage connectivity through a single pane of glass. Operational agility and multi-cloud resilience are now at the core of North Highland’s consulting agility.
“The biggest win for us is flexibility,” said Network and Telecom Administrator Gamal Joseph. “If we have a company-wide meeting or an event that requires extra bandwidth, we can increase capacity quickly. That’s a game-changer.”
Hourly billing also transformed financial planning. “Being able to monitor and adjust capacity according to need has greatly improved our monthly costs,” Joseph noted. “We save roughly $2,000 a month by consolidating circuits and leveraging Cloud Connect.”
Performance that drives real impact
Beyond minimizing costs, the shift to the Lumen IP backbone improved reliability and reduced IT overhead. North Highland retired redundant circuits and now relies exclusively on Lumen for uptime and performance.
“The ability to throttle bandwidth and manage everything in one place means our team spends less time troubleshooting and more time enabling consultants,” LePage said. “That’s critical for a firm like ours.”
Future-ready for an AI-driven world
As North Highland looks ahead, AI is becoming a natural part of its operations—from cloud development to infrastructure design. Lumen® Networking Solutions provide the foundation for this evolution.
“Our immediate need is agility,” LePage emphasized. “We must adapt as client needs change. Lumen is fundamental to that strategy, helping us stand up circuits in new cities, connect consultants and support the next wave of innovation.”
For a company that prides itself on turning vision into value, the partnership with Lumen helps ensure North Highland’s own infrastructure is just as transformative—secure, scalable and ready for what’s next.
To learn more about North Highland’s transformation, read the full customer success story.
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