2006
SITA and Orange Business Services strengthen relationship to better address the business transformation needs of the air transport industry
Enhanced Relationship for Mutual Growth will Improve SITA’s Market Penetration
& Competitiveness through Orange Business Services’ Full Range of Capabilities
PARIS, France and GENEVA, Switzerland – June 12, 2006
Orange Business Services and SITA today announced the enhancement of their existing relationship. Their joint objective is to provide the Air Transport Industry (ATI), through SITA, with innovative, flexible and competitive communications solutions that will address the key business transformation requirements of the ATI, enabling them to provide better services to their end customers.
SITA is a leading service provider of IT business solutions and communications services to the ATI. Owned by the air transport community, SITA today serves more than 3,000 ATI customers, including all major airlines, in 220 countries and territories.
SITA and Orange Business Services have a long history together since Equant’s creation by SITA in 1991. The new enhanced agreement renews and furthers the strategic agreement signed in 2001 for the supply of services. Under the new enhanced agreement, and based on common objectives, SITA has confirmed Orange Business Services as its strategic partner for communications services and Orange Business Services confirmed SITA as its strategic channel to the Air Transport Industry. The new enhanced agreement also reinforces the existing relationship with an expanded scope of services, third party services integration, and joint centers of excellence to address our customers’ complex requirements.
“Through this agreement with Orange Business Services, we will be able to provide innovative, tailor made communications solutions to the air transport community,” said Hans-Peter Kohlhammer, CEO and Director General of SITA SC. “We become more flexible and competitive, and are better placed to address areas of growth while responding to the varying business transformation requirements of the ATI.”
- Expanded services scope: extension to non-data communications services (mobile, telephony…), infrastructure services (LAN management, Server Hosting…), communicative application services (CRM, MtoM...) which are core to the convergence needs of the ATI and at the heart of France Telecom NExT strategy.
- Third party services integration: ability to complement current offerings with other providers’ services to increase competitiveness, in particular for domestic network services.
- Joint Centres of Excellence, encompassing complex solution design, network access solutions, third party integration and communications outsourcing for specific customers requests. The two companies have decided to join their expertise by focusing highly-skilled professionals on these areas, in order to customize integrated solutions allowing the ATI to take out complexity and to concentrate on their core business.
“Our customers will reap the rewards of an integrated offering combining the Orange Business Services portfolio, skills and proven communications outsourcing capabilities with our industry best practices and integration capabilities. This is critical for the future success of SITA and our customers,” said Francesco Violante, CEO of SITA (effective July 1st).
About Orange Business Services
Orange Business Services represents the business communications solutions and services provided by the France Telecom Group as of June 1st, 2006. They were previously sold under the France Telecom, Orange, Equant, Etrali, Almerys, EGT, Expertel Consulting, France Telecom Intelmatique, SETIB and Solicia brands.
The offers include converged voice, data and mobile services as well as IT expertise and managed services, all designed to transform business processes and improve productivity. Orange Business Services is present in 166 countries and territories and serves customers in 220.
About SITA
SITA is a leading service provider of IT business solutions and communications services to the air transport industry. SITA provides and manages complex communication solutions for its air transport, government and GDS customers over the world’s most extensive communication network, complemented by consultancy in the design, deployment and integration of communication services. Its extensive range of airline and airport applications and services includes airport operations and integrated baggage services, common use and desktop services, flight operations and air-to-ground communications and end-to-end airline distribution and fares services.
Further information can be found at: www.sita.aero.
