Umniah, a leading telecom provider in Jordan, has signed a strategic partnership with Microsoft Jordan towards launching the Windows Live suite of services.

“Umniah’s youth subscribers are avid online users, and hence providing them with services that enable them to consolidate and simplify their online activities is necessary in light of the growing range of popular online platforms,” said Ihab Hinnawi, Umniah CEO.

“We are very proud to be the first operator in the Kingdom to sign such an agreement with Microsoft Jordan and to be among the few telecom companies in the region to offer these services,” he added.

The Windows Live will be offered to the all Umniah GSM and broadband subscribers in the coming months, a statement said.

Umniah’s products and services will be bundled with the Windows Live account to offer users a more efficient method to communicate and stay connected, it added.

The Windows Live Interface will enable Umniah to enhance the way it interacts with its customers, keeping them up to date with its latest news and offers by creating a subscriber-based community, according to the statement.

Michel Diab, acting country manager in Microsoft Jordan, said: “This will provide Umniah’s younger generation of customers with a complimentary suite of Microsoft powered software client applications and Web services that deliver a comprehensive messaging, collaboration and networking solution, accessible from any web browser, PC or browser-enabled mobile device.”

Hani Quteineh, Microsoft Jordan account manager, commercial sector, added: "The latest generation of Windows Live is great for handling and storing information. It allows users to organize emails and gain access to productivity applications such as Microsoft Office Online, and provides integrated social networks.”

“It also presents users with a simple way of creating and sharing content such as photos and videos. Windows Live helps synchronize all the ways you communicate and share things online by giving you one place to go to chat with IM, send e-mail, share photos and files you’ve created, and stay connected with the people and things that matter to you online. With Umniah co-branded Windows Live ID, end-users can receive easy access to all their emails, contacts, calendars, social networks, and media content,” he said.

The value-added Windows Live services that Umniah is now offering to its younger customers include aggregating any POP mail service within Hotmail, providing users with one place to manage all their emails and an Umniah co-branded Windows Live Calendar so they can stay on top of their schedule.

A ‘What‘s New?’ feed that broadcasts the activities of contacts on the Windows Live Home Page will also be featured, while Windows Live SkyDrive that will enable users to store, access and share up to 25 GB of files online for free.

Windows Live Office Online enables users to open, edit and share Microsoft documents, while they can connect with their friends and access various social networking sites via the Windows Live Messenger. – TradeArabia News Service