2007

Paris, May 21, 2007

 

 

Orange Business Services and Microsoft today announced “Business Together with Microsoft”, an innovative collaborative solution to accelerate the use of unified communications in companies. “Business Together with Microsoft” also helps companies keep up with the latest market requirements for fast communication, constant contact with colleagues, customers and partners, and efficient information sharing.

 

“Business Together with Microsoft” lets companies radically improve the communication habits of their employees. It gives access to a range of tools that they can use either when mobile or from their workstation. They can take advantage of new services, with total security, from any terminal that is equipped with a compatible web browser. Through a single Windows Outlook interface, they can access their mailbox, view voice messages as emails, read faxes, make voice over IP calls, and access their contacts and calendar. They can also communicate in real time through audio, video, web conferencing or instant messaging.  In addition, they can also manage and share documents and calendars. An encrypted link to their mailbox gives them access to powerful search functions.

 

Orange Business Services tailors “Business Together with Microsoft” to meet individual customer needs. The complete range of services includes consulting and audits, migration to IP, integration, managed IT infrastructure and applications services, and outsourcing.

 

“There is a huge demand for collaborative solutions in today’s working environment,” says Laurent Kocher, vice president, Global Services, Orange Business Services. “Cooperative work between employees in different locations across time zones is expected to make up more than half of a typical office employee’s work time by 2015. Companies need to provide staff with the tools to respond quickly to constant demands for attention and an efficient way to manage multiple types of contact”.

 

“Business Together with Microsoft” is currently available for multinational companies across the world, and is based on the complementary nature of the new generation of software launched recently by Microsoft: Office Communications Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007, Forefront and Office SharePoint Server.

 

“Business Together with Microsoft” leverages the complementary skills and expertise of the two companies: Orange Business Services in the area of messaging, IP convergence and network-related services; Microsoft in unified communications and collaboration solutions.

 

 

Orange Business Services represents the communication solutions and services dedicated to companies of the France Telecom Group since June 1, 2006. They were previously marketed under the brands France Telecom, Orange, Equant, Etrali, Almerys, EGT, Expertel Consulting, France Telecom Intelmatique, SETIB, and Solicia. These offerings include convergent services between voice, data and mobiles, IT expertise and managed services, all designed to transform company processes and improve their productivity. Established in 166 countries, Orange Business Services satisfies the needs of its customers in 220 countries and territories.

 

 

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (quoted on the NASDAQ under MSFT) is the worldwide leader in computer software. The company develops and markets a large range of software applications, accessories and services for home and business use. The aim is to enable everyone to access the power of information technology from anywhere at any moment, using the digital tool of his/her choice connected to the internet.