It’s been a year since CenturyLink announced that all of its data centers will receive the Uptime Institute’s Management & Operations (M&O) Stamp of Approval, and the company has reported on its progress so far.

CenturyLink owns and manages more than 60 data centers, and more than half have already received their M&O badge. The remaining facilities are expected to be certified over the next 12 months.

“We sought a level of achievement to differentiate CenturyLink’s data centers beyond what was expected or commonplace. Uptime Institute’s M&O Stamp of Approval requires a level of rigor and aptitude specific to data centers that digs into, and recognizes, our operational achievements,” said David Meredith, senior vice president at CenturyLink.

Witness me

In December 2014, CenturyLink announced plans to become the first major data center operator to achieve full certification with Uptime Institute’s M&O guidelines.

According to Uptime, operations-related failures are the most common cause of data center outages. The M&O stamp is a voluntary certification designed to validate management of the critical facilities and test operations practices of a working data center. It was drawn up from Uptime’s own Tier Standard: Operational Sustainability.

Data centers seeking the M&O Stamp of Approval are subjected to on-site evaluations to determine whether it meets the M&O criteria.

CenturyLink’s five data centers in London were the latest facilities to get a visit from Uptime. With these recent additions, the company now operates the largest ever portfolio of M&O certified sites.

“CenturyLink’s commitment and achievements are unparalleled. If customers think this same diligence is demonstrated by all providers–they are gambling with their IT investment and performance if they don’t ask to see the unbiased, third-party proof,” noted Lee Kirby, CTO of the Uptime Institute.

Over the course of the year, CenturyLink has also received several Tier certifications from Uptime for data center build projects in the US, Canada and Hong Kong.

The M&O Approved designation is valid for two years, after which time the certified site must submit to an accelerated re-certification process.