2007

Paris, Nov. 13, 2007

 

Orange Business Services announced the signing of a global three-year, multimillion-euro contract to provide a managed wide area network solution to Swarovski, the world’s leading manufacturer of precision cut crystal headquartered in Wattens, Austria.

 

The new deal will link more than 6,000 users at Swarovski’s production and sales offices worldwide, bringing significant cost savings, higher bandwidth and flexibility to its communications infrastructure.

 

“We were looking for a future-ready solution from a single provider that would let us map all of our business processes from end to end,” said Helmut Krimbacher, CIO, Swarovski. “We now have a transparent and integrated network that’s easy to manage. Our plans for the future include connecting all of our worldwide locations, implementing solutions for small offices and giving our mobile workers secure network access. And last but not least, we also intend to migrate our outmoded voice traffic to the new IP VPN in order to simplify communication and save money. Working with Orange Business Services means that all these objectives can be achieved on a totally transparent way on our part.”

 

Benefits of using Orange Business Services were crystal clear to Swarovski, including:

Single trusted provider:  Consistent support services from a single trusted provider simplifies international communications, minimizing management hassle and costs. Swarovski will receive the adequate level of service in every location along with one single invoice with itemized billing for all services in all locations.

Future-ready technology and infrastructure:  Orange Business Services provides solutions that are not just ready for the future. They also spark ideas for innovative business opportunities not even imagined today. Today Swarovski’s long-term goal is to use voice services and to connect its mobile workers to the network but future options are literally limitless.

Convergence: The convergence of communications and IT systems enables businesses to maximize the effectiveness of their IP applications and even helps create new business models using mission critical applications. Swarovski wants to gain efficiencies by migrating its voice traffic to its IP VPN.

Flexibility and cost-efficiency: Thanks to the plug-and-play functionality of the IP VPN, new locations can be easily integrated. Swarovski plans to connect all its stores worldwide in the future. Plus, the simplified network infrastructure provides considerable savings that allows Swarovski to optimize its communications budget.

 

Peter Simak, head of Austria and CEE for Orange Business Services, said: “At Orange Business Services we place the customer at the heart of everything we do. It’s not just continuity, availability and security that are of primary importance to Swarovski. It’s also the management of those services and access to new technologies. Plus, Swarovski can be assured that Orange Business Services takes full responsibility for the way it works. We are delighted that Swarovski chose Orange Business Services and look forward to a continuing and developing our relationship.”

 

112 years ago, in 1895, Daniel Swarovski I, a Bohemian inventor and visionary, moved to the village of Wattens, Tyrol in Austria, with his newly-invented machine for cutting and polishing crystal jewelry stones. From these beginnings, which revolutionized the fashion world, Swarovski has grown to be the world’s leading producer of precision-cut crystal, for fashion, jewelry and more recently lighting, architecture and interiors. Today, the company, still based in Wattens, family-owned and run by 4th and 5th generation family members, has a global reach, with some 20,000 employees, a presence in over 120 countries and a turnover in 2006 of 2,37 billion Euros. Swarovski comprises two major divisions, one producing and selling loose crystals to the industry and the other creating design-driven finished products. Swarovski crystal components, known by their product brand names CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements for fashion and STRASS ^® Swarovski ^® Crystal for architecture and light, have become an essential ingredient of international design. Showing the creativity that lies at the heart of the company, Swarovski’s own-brand lines of accessories, jewelry and home décor are sold through more than 1150 Swarovski stores and concessions in all major fashion capitals, while the exclusive Daniel Swarovski accessories collection has become the company’s Couture signature. The Swarovski Crystal Society has close to 400,000 members worldwide, keen collectors of the celebrated crystal figurines. And in Wattens, Crystal Worlds, the multi-media crystal museum, has attracted over 7 million visitors since it was opened in 1995, as a celebration of Swarovski’s universe of innovation and inspiration, of crystal as the ultimate creative material. The Swarovski corporation also includes four industrial brands, Tyrolit ^®, manufacturing grinding tools, Swareflex, for road safety reflectors, Optik, producing precision optical instruments and Signity, Swarovski’s brand for genuine and created gemstones.

 

Illuminating Fashion and Culture, Home and Leisure, www.swarovski.com

 

Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. 

France Telecom serves more than 163 million customers in five continents (220 countries or territories) as of June 30, 2007, of which two thirds are Orange customers. The Group had consolidated sales of 51.7 billion euros in 2006 (25,9 billion euros for the 1st semester of 2007).

Launched in June 2005, France Telecom’s NExT program (New Experience in Telecommunications) will enable the Group to pursue its transformation as an integrated operator and make France Telecom the benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. In 2006, Orange became the Group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates, and Orange Business Services the banner for services offered to businesses worldwide. France Telecom is the number three mobile operator and the number one provider of broadband internet services in Europe and one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris and on the New York Stock Exchange.