of their sites. Thus, supplying this wider range of services creates a "stickier" relationship with customers, and a sticky customer is one that is less likely to change vendors. In addition, carriers such as Verizon and AT&T have the resources to build inter- national data centers and hosting facilities as well as hire consultants with specialized skills in developing applications for vertical markets such as healthcare and insurance. Furthermore, carriers develop partnerships with organizations such as Cisco, Novell Technologies, and Akamai Technologies that supply complementary products and services that the carriers can sell along with their own network services. Some carriers offer Cisco's Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution as hosted telephone and Unified Communications (UC) and Akamai's application acceleration. Applica- tion acceleration services decrease possible delays when remote users access central- ized applications and files. These delays are caused by common protocols employed by applications accessed over Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks. Managed Services for Small and Midsize Organizations In conjunction with managed services, carriers are placing more emphasis on small and midsize organizations. Large carriers have often assigned newly hired, less knowl- edgeable salespeople to smaller customers. In addition, fewer resources were allocated to resolving any billing issues for these customers. Consequently, many small organi- zations, lured by the promise of lower prices and more attention to their requirements, switched to smaller, regional providers, such as Windstream Communications, Level Communications, and tw telecom. In contrast, most large multi-site organizations such as universities, financial institutions, and major hospitals stayed with the largest carri- ers which they felt had the resources to support their needs. This is particularly true for international and multisite organizations, which often want a single carrier to support all or at least most of their 