Orange Business Services and Saudi Business Machines Sign Business Partnership to Develop Common ICT Projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

partnership advances development of the competitive ICT landscape

PARIS & RIYADH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following the inauguration of Orange Business Arabia in April 2012 and the launch of its local company in Qatar in January 2013, Orange Business Services makes its next move to support the development of its Middle East and Africa growth strategy by signing a partnership with Saudi Business Machines Limited (SBM) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Orange Business Services, through Orange Business Arabia LLC, its local Saudi Arabia operating company, and SBM, a leading systems integrator, have signed a business partnership agreement through which the two companies will cooperate as preferred partners on bids for major ICT projects in the Kingdom. The combination of the two brands, their skill sets and experience, together with the Orange Group’s R&D and innovation capabilities, is expected to contribute toward the advancement of the ICT system integration landscape in the Kingdom.

Orange Business Services and SBM will jointly identify and bid for major projects in the rapidly expanding ICT market and will address opportunities in strategic market segments like smart cities, security, healthcare and core services for the enterprise market.

As preferred partners, the companies will also contract each other's services leveraging the strong domestic presence of SBM and the strong international coverage of Orange Business Services.

Giorgio Heiman, Vice President, Global Solutions and Services, Emerging Markets & Indirect channels, Orange Business Services, commented: “We are pleased to have signed our agreement with SBM, which will provide a solid foundation for achieving our strategic objectives and strengthen our respective positions in the domestic market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new business partnership will provide us with a platform to address the growing local demand for telecommunication and information technology services.”

Essam Al-Shiha, Vice President, Sales, Saudi Business Machines, commented: “We believe that our partnership with Orange Business Services will add a great value to our promotion and development of Information Communication Technology in building the future of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and it will broaden our portfolio allowing us to continue to be the leading solutions provider to the people and industries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

According to Orange Business Services, Saudi Arabia is the driving force of the regional economy in the Middle East and is a rapidly evolving ICT market. Orange Business Services is already established as a highly trusted partner to some of the largest infrastructure projects and developments in the country, working in close partnerships with a range of major public and private sector organizations in the Kingdom.

The France Telecom Orange group has more than 50 years’ history in the region and more than two thousand people working in the B2B market committed to supporting both foreign and domestic enterprise customers, and serving more than 500 multinational customers there. Orange Business Services will continue to support customers across the strategically important Gulf Cooperation Council states from the Middle East and Africa regional headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

About Orange Business Services

Orange Business Services, the France Telecom-Orange branch dedicated to B2B services, is a leading global integrator of communications solutions for multinational corporations. With the world's largest, seamless network for voice and data, Orange Business Services reaches 220 countries and territories with local support in 166. Offering a comprehensive package of communication services covering cloud computing, enterprise mobility, M2M, security, unified communications, videoconferencing, and broadband, Orange Business Services delivers a best-in-class customer experience across a global landscape. Thousands of enterprise customers and 1.4 million mobile data users rely on an Orange Business Services international platform for communicating and conducting business. Orange Business Services was awarded three of the telecom industry’s highest accolades at the annual World Communication Awards 2012 – Best Global Operator, Best Cloud Service and the User’s Choice Award. Orange Business Services is a five-time winner of Best Global Operator. Learn more at www.orange-business.com

France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 45.3 billion euros for 2011 and has 170,000 employees worldwide at Sept. 30, 2012. Orange is the Group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates. France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.

About Saudi Business Machines

Saudi Business Machines Ltd. (SBM) is the General Marketing and Services Representative of IBM World Trade Corporation in Saudi Arabia – the Kingdom’s leading provider of end-to-end enterprise information technology and telecommunications solutions across all industries. Its capability as a total solutions provider is further enhanced with strategic partnership with the worldwide technology leaders and its portfolio of services in networking, systems integration, consultation, managed services and implementation, business recovery and operations support. SBM has a workforce of more than 1,000 employees operating throughout the Kingdom from its headquarters in Jeddah and branch offices in Riyadh, Al Khobar and Jubail.