Business Together as a Service enables new ways of working for multinational companies
During a global event held today in Paris, Atlanta, Frankfurt, Moscow and Singapore, Orange Business announced the global expansion of Business Together as a Service. After its launch in France and Europe, Business Together as a Service is now the market’s first Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) offer available for large enterprises on a global scale. This high-performance, high-security cloud service is hosted in three regional data centers, part of the Orange Business dedicated cloud computing infrastructure.
Recognized as “Best Cloud Service” at the World Communications Awards 2012 and based on the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution, Business Together as a Service is designed to enable new ways of working for employees, while making it quick and cost-effective for IT management to deploy these tools. Comprising unified communications and collaboration tools offered via the cloud, such as telephony, unified messaging, Instant Messaging with presence, conferencing (audio, Web and video), and mobility, Business Together as a Service allows access anytime, anywhere, using a PC, tablet, smartphone, or dedicated device – such as an IP phone.
3M chooses Business Together as a Service
Using the service, 3M will improve collaboration and productivity among its 20,000 employees at 75 sites across 25 countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Implementation will take place on a site-by-site basis with 16,000 seats being rolled out by the end of 2014 and the remaining in the following three years. 3M plans to eventually extend the service to Asia Pacific and Latin America.
supports companies’ global expansion and efficiency
As a turn-key, end-to-end solution, Business Together as a Service offers a wide range of benefits:
- for the business: As a cloud-based solution, the pricing model is a key differentiator. Customers benefit from the same, predictable global pricing regardless of location. Buying “as a Service” means companies pay only for the applications employees use on a pay-as-you-go basis and do not have to invest upfront in technology, resulting in lower Capex. Companies can quickly open new offices, integrate a newly-acquired company and react to other changing business needs. They also benefit from improved employee productivity and satisfaction;
- for the IT manager: Using a unique, easy-to-use management portal, customers can select from six pre-set profiles combining different sets of communication and collaboration tools to match employee needs. Also, the number of end-user accounts can be scaled up or down quickly and easily, and set-up of a new user profile requires only a few clicks; and
- for the end-user: The new tools employees need are supported by the devices they like, including BYOD, through a single end-user client. Employees have the ability to work from anywhere, anytime and benefit from a consistent user experience. Also, the solution facilitates real-time collaboration, improving productivity and accelerating decision making.
“Globalization, widely-dispersed teams, increased consumerization of business IT, and greater mobility are all converging, making the ‘new workspace’ essential for multinational companies,” said Vivek Badrinath, CEO, Orange Business. “Employees need productivity tools that make it faster and easier to get things done. Business Together as a Service enables them to have boundaryless access to those tools, which helps achieve the desired work-life balance and mobility that is expected from today’s workforce, particularly by Gen-Y talent.”
rolled-out on Orange Business’ next-generation global cloud infrastructure
Available on six continents, the solution is supported by three Orange Business Tier III+ or Tier IV data centers, located in Atlanta, Frankfurt and Singapore, which are part of the Orange Business dedicated cloud computing infrastructure. The delivery of the service from three regional data centers guarantees the quality of service to users in every region, while globally Orange Business is able to provide a consistent offer and delivery to all users in an enterprise. Additionally, cloud services hosted by Orange offer customers the highest levels of security, including ISAE 3402 certification.
A replay of the event will be available from April 25 at: http://www.orange-business.com/en/ucaas-april23