Orange Business Services Positioned in Leaders Quadrant for Asia/Pacific Network Service Providers

Business Wire, Feb 27, 2007

PARIS -- Orange Business Services has been placed in the leaders quadrant in Gartner Inc.'s Magic Quadrant for Asia/Pacific Network Service Providers, 20061.

The report defines "leaders" as vendors who "demonstrate strong vision, especially in terms of defining future market needs. They back their vision by investing ahead of competitors, very often in new or unproven areas, and are generally well-positioned for the future. Significant differences exist between the lead players in terms of strategy and execution, and none excel in all areas. However, their long-term outcome is not clear, as continued challenges in the industry may yet derail their plans."

Barbara Dalibard, executive vice president, Orange Business Services, said: "We are delighted to be positioned in the leaders quadrant in Gartner's Asia Pacific Magic Quadrant especially considering the ability to execute criteria."

"Orange Business Services has the highest market share in international IP VPN in Asia Pacific and views this region as a dominant force in global business markets. We are committed to this region, offering a complete portfolio of solutions to our customers and supporting them with the region's most extensive network."

Network Service Providers evaluated in the Magic Quadrant were evaluated on their "ability to execute" and "completeness of vision," which reflect the following specific criteria:

Ability to Execute. Product/Service, Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy, Organization), Sales Execution/Pricing, Market Responsiveness and Track Record, Marketing Execution, Customer Experience, and Operations.

Completeness of Vision. Market Understanding, Marketing Strategy, Sales Strategy, Offering (Product) Strategy, Business Model, Vertical/Industry Strategy, Innovation and Geographic Strategy.

According to the report, To Chee Eng, Research Director, Gartner, said: "We give high marks to service providers that go an extra mile to deliver superior service quality through their regional network, local service and support, and service level commitments. We also put special emphasis on delivering superior connectivity to and within China and India, the most important markets in Asia today due to large-scale networking requirements in these markets."

1Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for Asia/Pacific Network Service Providers, 2006", To Chee Eng, January 15, 2007.

About Orange Business Services

Orange Business Services represents the business communications solutions and services provided by the France Telecom Group as of June 1, 2006. They were previously sold under the France Telecom, Orange, Equant, Etrali, Almerys, EGT, Expertel Consulting, France Telecom Intelmatique, SETIB and Solicia brands.

The offers include converged voice, data and mobile services as well as IT expertise and managed services, all designed to transform business processes and improve productivity. Orange Business Services is present in 166 countries and territories and serves customers in 220. www.orange-business.com.

Editor's Note

The Gartner Magic Quadrant is copyrighted January 15, 2007 by Gartner, Inc., and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.