Orange signs two customers

Orange Business Services has signed deals to provide managed services and networks for two of the Middle East's biggest firms.

The deals, announced at GULFCOMMS, will see the business services arm of France Telecom manage the network of supermarket chain Carrefour and enter into a networking agreement with the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC).

The deal to connect Carrefour's 30 sites in the Middle East is the largest of its kind to be won by Orange Business Services in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region and is worth "several million dollars", according to Lionel Reina, vice president and general manager of EEMEA for Orange Business Services.

Carrefour has been working to develop a new IT strategy to help the expansion of its business, and to provide central support for financial and communications applications.The virtual private network (VPN) will consist of multiple backbone, access and router technology, tied together with a single network operation and management system.

Reina explains: "This contract reinforces the importance of global and regional reach, when it comes to connectivity solutions for multinational and large regional corporations."

Orange Business Services' deal with UASC, the largest ocean carrier of dry cargo in the Middle East, will see it link 28 sites throughout the USA and Europe, and includes ten locations in the Middle East, all of which can now communicate with UASC's data centre in Singapore.

Reina says it is the first time that UASC has used an IP-based network platform. "In the short term, it is helping them to transport information in a more rapid and secure way," he adds.