network security, quality of service and traffic prioritization were key decision factors
Orange Business is providing secure satellite VPN services to improve communication between the Russian headquarters of Nordgold and the company’s Lefa mine in Guinea and the Bissa and Taparko mines in Burkina Faso in West Africa. Nordgold has six other mining companies in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Due to its rapid business growth in Africa, Nordgold needed to modernize its data channels to improve communication between sites while benefiting from a high level of network security, quality of service, an optimal price and the ability to prioritize traffic, especially video conferencing and voice over IP.
Orange Business has extensive experience in delivering infrastructure and services to high-growth markets and provides local support in 166 countries, including 28 African countries. Orange Business’ satellite solution allows access to the Orange IP VPN, covering more than 160 countries. Orange Business has a fully-integrated terrestrial and satellite network that not only provides a secure high level of availability, but also flexibility so that changes can be made quickly and easily whenever needed.
To connect Nordgold’s satellite stations – two in Burkina Faso and one in Guinea – Orange’s satellite teleport in France was used, coupled with a high-speed optical communication link with the Russian Orange network and the customer’s infrastructure. The implementation was supported by Orange Business experts from the Middle East and Africa.
“Nordgold adopts best practices for managing business processes at all its plants, and this also means daily interaction with the company management,” said Sergey Zinkovich, CFO of Nordgold. “The contract with Orange, a global provider of telecommunications services, guaranteed us a prompt and reliable integration of African units into Nordgold’s existing corporate infrastructure.”
“Orange’s international expertise greatly contributed to the successful implementation of the Nordgold project,” said Helmut Reisinger, senior vice president, Orange Business Europe, Russia & CIS. “The ability to implement trans-border projects of any level of complexity is one of the key benefits of doing business with Orange. We can help the growing number of companies based in Russia enter overseas markets just as easily as we can help international companies entering Russia, serving them with our solid communications infrastructure in Russia. We see from the GDP of Russia that Russian multinationals have a very successful track record in going global. We can help MNCs wherever their business takes them – including in Russia with our country-wide infrastructure and service offerings.”
Orange Business in Russia
Orange Business is the only international telecommunication and integration services provider operating in the business-to-business sector in Russia with country-wide state-of-the art network infrastructure that is fully licensed including a long distance voice license. The company employs 1,000 highly trained ICT specialists in 36 major cities in Russia and delivers IP transformation, unified communications services, CRM services, video services, voice and data and integration solutions across IT and telecommunications.
Orange Business operates its own IP MPLS network with 1,300 access points covering all of the largest cities in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The network is seamlessly integrated into the global Orange network. In addition, Orange Business has a network of data centers across Russia, including a major data center in Moscow that supports cloud initiatives; 1,000 satellite access points; and five of its own teleports in Moscow, Ryazan, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Khabarovsk. Customers are supported further by 42 local and 12 zonal fixed telephony networks and intercity and international fixed telephony networks.
Orange Business is well placed to help globalize MNCs in Russia and has a successful track record exemplified by 5,000 business customers in Russia. Orange Business network management centers located in Moscow, Nizhnii Novgorod and Novosibirsk provide around-the- clock network monitoring and management ensuring the highest level of reliability.
About Nordgold
Nordgold (LSE: NORD) is an independent international mining company that was founded in 2007. The company has expanded rapidly through the acquisition of new and the development of existing assets and achieved record growth for the industry. In 2012, Nordgold gold production totaled 717,000 ounces.
The company has nine operating mines, one project at the design stage, five projects in the late stage of exploration and numerous projects at an early stage of exploration and licensing in Russia, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Nordgold has around 10,000 employees in the CIS countries and in West Africa.