MCI Adds VAR-Like Offering

MCI's Site Services offering will now include the option of having MCI engineers arrive on site before a customer deploys VoIP, Internet or data services, then perform any necessary network upgrade, said Cliff Cibelli, senior product manager for managed network services at MCI, Ashburn, Va.

Site Services is meant to give MCI a leg up on competitors that either don't have onsite network skills, or must subcontract them out to solution providers, said Cibelli.

Although Site Services will be available for MCI partners to resell to enterprise customers, the effort will be driven primarily by MCI's direct sales force. MCI looks to enlist the 1,500 or so field engineers it has in the U.S. to fulfill the jobs, said Cibelli.

"Customer are looking for single-vendor solutions," said Cibelli. "What customers don't want is two or three different vendors pointing the finger at one another."

Services range from the installation of DHCP and Exchange servers, down to the removal of racks and shelves, said Cibelli. Pricing is based on individual network needs.