Orange Business Services, a leading global integrator of communications solutions for multinational corporations, has signed a business partnership deal with Saudi Business Machines (SBM) to develop common ICT projects in the Kingdom.

Orange Business Services, the B2B services unit of France Telecom-Orange, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, said the partnership advances development of the competitive ICT landscape.

As per the agreement, the two companies will co-operate as preferred partners on bids for major ICT projects in the Kingdom, said SBM, the general marketing and services representative of IBM.

The combination of the two brands, their skill sets and experience, together with the Orange Group’s R&D and innovation capabilities, is expected to contribute toward the advancement of the ICT system integration landscape in the Kingdom, it stated.

Orange Business Services and SBM will jointly identify and bid for major projects in the rapidly expanding ICT market and will address opportunities in strategic market segments like smart cities, security, healthcare and core services for the enterprise market.

As preferred partners, the companies will also contract each other's services leveraging the strong domestic presence of SBM and the strong international coverage of Orange Business Services.

Giorgio Heiman, the VP, Global Solutions and Services, Emerging Markets & Indirect channels, Orange Business Services, said, "The agreement will provide a solid foundation for achieving our strategic objectives and strengthen our respective positions in the domestic market in Saudi."

According to him, Saudi was the driving force of the regional economy in the Middle East and a rapidly evolving ICT market.

"The new business partnership will provide us with a platform to address the growing local demand for telecommunication and information technology services," he added.  

Essam Al-Shiha, VP of sales, SBM said, “We believe that our partnership with Orange Business Services will add a great value to our promotion and development of ICT in building the future of Saudi, and it will broaden our portfolio allowing us to continue to be the leading solutions provider to the people and industries of the Kingdom.”-TradeArabia News Service