Paris and Dubai, UAE, Oct. 20, 2008

 

 

Orange Business Services is connecting 27 Carrefour hypermarkets and three company sites throughout the Middle East with a managed Adaptive Network. A four-year, multimillion U.S. dollar regional IP networking and managed services contract was signed with MAF Hypermarkets LLC, part of the Majid Al Futtaim Group and a joint venture with the world’s second largest retailer Carrefour. This deal represents one of Orange’s largest networking contracts in the Middle East.

 

MAF Hypermarkets operates 27 Carrefour stores in seven countries throughout the Middle East and plans to more than double the number of Middle East stores by 2012.

 

Chris Mahiat, CIO of MAF Hypermarkets, said:  “Over the last two years, MAF Hypermarkets has been working to develop and implement a new IT strategy to meet the rapidly-developing needs of the expanding regional business, including central support for financial, ERP and communications applications. This agreement with Orange Business Services gives us access to a highly-flexible network with regional and global reach and a comprehensive set of services which simplifies the management process and offers scalability. It’s a new standard that can offer a platform for MAF Retail across the region.”   

 

The economic and business case for multinational and large regional companies replacing their aging data WANs with IP-based WANs is strong, as this brings lower total cost of ownership with network reliability and the ability to add or remove sites quickly and easily.  

 

Ahmed Bahgat, Network & Telecom manager, MAF Hypermarkets, adds: “The Orange Business Services adaptive MPLS network will make it easy for the MAF Hypermarkets network to expand and develop to meet evolving needs. This core solution will enable a simplified and efficient communication infrastructure, which operates 24x7 anywhere we do business.”

 

Lionel Reina, vice president, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Orange Business Services, comments: “We already partner with more than 200 multinational companies in the region and the retail sector is moving fast in the Middle East. We have had a relationship with Carrefour since 1998 and are delighted to support growth in the Middle East through MAF Hypermarkets at a time when their business strategy demands focus on results rather than on the complexities of technology.” 

 

MAF Hypermarkets, part of the Majid Al Futtaim Group, is a joint venture with the world’s second largest retailer Carrefour. The company operates 27 hypermarkets currently and remains the leader in terms of quality and low priced goods. Carrefour’s own retail brands are a significant medium for brand differentiation and customer loyalty, contributing substantially to the organization’s growth in sales.

For additional information about the Majid Al Futtaim Group, please visit: www.majidalfuttaim.com 

Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. France Telecom serves close to 174 million customers in five continents as of

 

June 30, 2008, of which two thirds are Orange customers. The Group had consolidated sales of 52.9 billion euros in 2007 (26.3 billion euros for the first half 2008). As of June 30, 2008, the Group had 113.8 million mobile customers and 12.2 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers.

 

Launched in June 2005, the 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 (compartiment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Orange's Adaptive Network allows best-of-breed technologies at each site to meet specific customer requirements. Orange can monitor and manage all customers’ sites, even those beyond the reach of the Adaptive Network. Orange’s Adaptive Network is a perfect solution for retail companies, supporting a wide mix of access technologies including: Wi-Fi, DSL and Ethernet. Orange Business Services has a long history of serving retail customers and provides a full suite of beneficial solutions for this sector including: business critical applications management, machine-to-machine, messaging, RFID and TelePresence.