Orange Business Services, an arm of France Telecom-Orange and one of the Middle East’s major ICT employers, has announced the opening of its new dedicated office in Saudi capital Riyadh.

Announcing the Saudi foray, Orange Business Arabia said the new office will help address the specific and significant ICT market opportunity in Saudi and also strengthen its position within the domestic market through closer proximity to customers.

This is the latest local company established by Orange Business Services in the Middle East and Africa under the continuing development of the business, said a senior official.

“This new Orange Business Services office is a very significant step that brings us much closer to our growing customer base in the Kingdom and the timing is absolutely right,' remarked Lionel Reina, the general delegate Arabia for Orange Business Services and chairman of the board of Orange Business Arabia.

Commenting on the new Saudi operation, Reina said the Kingdom is the driving force of the regional economy and a rapidly evolving ICT market.

'We have already established Orange Business Services as a highly trusted partner to some of the largest infrastructure projects and developments in the country, and we are working in close partnerships with a range of major public and private sector organisations in the Kingdom,' he stated.

The new office will focus on the key areas of smart cities, telecom operator transformation, and large infrastructure projects, in addition to serving the multinational companies that operate in the Kingdom.

Orange Business Services has also announced the appointment of a new, dedicated senior management team for Saudi Arabia.

Mohamad Hesham has been named the managing director of the new Saudi entity and country manager of Saudi Arabia for Orange Business Services.

The official launch of Orange Business Arabia took place at the French Embassy in Riyadh on April 17, at a reception hosted by Bertrand Besancenot, the French Ambassador to Saudi which was attended by senior diplomats and representatives of the Saudi Arabian and French business communities, partners and customers.

Speaking at the launch event, Jean-Luc Lasnier, the VP and general manager of Middle East and Africa, Orange Business Services, said, 'The opening of our office comes as Orange is accelerating its growth strategy in Middle East, following a strong performance in 2011 in which the regional business achieved high double-digit revenue growth.'

'This office opening is a clear sign of our commitment to the Saudi market and to working more closely with our customers here,' he added.

Orange won its first cloud computing contract in Saudi in 2011 and continues to focus on its smart cities activity – a segment of business that is distinctive to the Middle East and is especially active in the Kingdom.-TradeArabia News Service