Orange Business secures multimillion, 5-year IT contract extension from AkzoNobel

Orange Business supports AkzoNobel in accelerating global application consolidation for 50,000 employees globally

AkzoNobel, market leader in global paints and coatings and major producer of specialty chemicals, optimizes performance through IT services provided by Orange Business. The company signed a multimillion euro, 5-year contract extension with Orange Business. The agreement covers secure and scalable IT infrastructure services that will support AkzoNobel in reaching its objectives as a global company, connecting 50,000 employees across 1,200-plus sites in dozens of countries.

A robust and flexible network to support AkzoNobel’s global operations and expansion

AkzoNobel’s extension with Orange Business is the result of a successful ten-year collaboration between both companies. The new agreement contains a scalable private network for AkzoNobel’s existing 1200-plus sites, including a global security solution. Also included are managed LAN services, managed application acceleration services and a fully managed immersive telepresence solution for 11 main offices around the globe to enhance global collaboration. These services are covered by Integrated Service Management and the dedicated Orange 24x7 helpdesk, including enhanced capabilities to support multiple local languages for selected emerging regions in Latin America and China.

Moreover, one of AkzoNobel’s ambitions is to build on its leadership and grow towards 50% of total revenues coming from high-growth markets – a goal that Orange Business is optimally positioned to support based on its unrivalled global reach and presence, as well as continued strategic investments.

Optimized performance, foundation for global consolidation and innovation

AkzoNobel is progressing to accelerate its strategy of consolidating the global business-critical applications within the IT landscape, supporting its global business processes. Through the integrated use of various global networking components combined with application acceleration technology, this agreement helps AkzoNobel to reach those objectives by increasing transparency and agility, while optimizing performance and saving costs.

“We are constantly looking for ways to better leverage our global scale, focus on end-user segments and to support further growth in both mature and high-growth markets,” said Pieter Schoehuijs, CIO AkzoNobel. “Orange Business is the right partner to support us in reaching these ambitions. We’ve been working together for ten years now and during this period, Orange Business has been on the forefront when it comes to reliable and innovative IT solutions globally. Orange Business has proven to understand our business requirements, matching those to the right IT solutions, helping us achieve our goals.”

“We are very happy with the extension of AkzoNobel, allowing us to continue bringing real business value to one of the world’s leading companies as well as our longtime client,” said Helmut Reisinger, senior vice president, Orange Business Europe, Russia & CIS. “The agreement which additionally includes enhancements to our global delivery SLAs, underpins our industry leading position in customer satisfaction and strengthens our unwavering commitment to operational excellence.  Through continuous improvement and innovation we’re able to support AkzoNobel in further consolidations that will drive agility and cost reduction. We are fully committed to support the company in this journey.”

About AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel is a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. We supply industries and consumers worldwide with innovative products and are passionate about developing sustainable answers for our customers. Our portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International and Eka. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we are consistently ranked as one of the leaders in the area of sustainability. With operations in more than 80 countries, our 50,000 people around the world are committed to delivering leading products and technologies to meet the growing demands of our fast-changing world.