Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 11 | Page 6

NEWS Orange improves connectivity with two new IP and IPX PoP in Africa Orange has opened two very large-capacity IP and IPX points of presence (PoP) in South Africa. The facilities, located in Cape Town and Johannesburg, are now operational and will enhance Internet and mobile connectivity in the region by offering faster connection speeds and improved reliability for wholesale customers. IP and IPX points of presence are part of the technical infrastructure equipment necessary to enable local operators to access the Internet and mobile services through an interconnection point with long-distance networks. Orange is the first operator capable of offering reliable, high quality, secure connections for the wholesale market around the continent of Africa to support the huge rise in IP and IPX traffic in this area. This fully redundant IP and IPX PoP is a secure solution that will help facilitate the development of this region. Orange is now able to offer reliable, high quality connections for African countries surrounding South Africa. operator. Thanks to this point of presence that will bring content providers closer to Internet users, the customer experience is set to improve,” said Pierre-Louis de Guillebon, CEO, International Carriers, Orange. “By connecting to this very large capacity PoP, wholesale customers, regional operators and Internet service providers will benefit from cost-effective connections to a Tier 1 Following the launch of these two new IP and IPX PoP in South Africa, Orange will now be able to fully address the market’s needs. Oracle strengthens partner network in SADC to support cloud growth Oracle has reinforced its commitment to advance cloud growth and provide near-seamless support to customers and partners in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by naming Britehouse and AGILEUM as two of the first partners to join the Cloud Excellence Implementer (CEI) programme. Launched at OpenWorld 2017, the CEI partner programme is designed to accelerate customers’ digital transformation in the cloud. The programme recognises and rewards partners that continually demonstrate expertise, a successful track record, and superior customer satisfaction in delivering high quality Oracle Software as a Service (SaaS) Cloud implementations to customers. qualifications for implementing Oracle SaaS solutions. A proven record of customer commitment, sustained innovation and competency are some of the core parameters of the CEI programme. Through the OPN Solutions Catalog, customers are now able to easily identify and engage with partner firms that best align to their specific project needs. Access to this information helps customers minimise implementation risk, quickly adopt new cloud functionality, and continuously expand their Oracle Cloud footprint. “For Oracle, success is not defined by how well we do, but how well our partners and customers do,” says Robert Williamson, Partner Digital Transformation Leader, South Africa and SADC, Oracle Corporation. “Both Britehouse and AGILEUM are committed to deepening their customer engagements and building long-term relationships, making them great partners to join the CEI programme.” The CEI programme was developed to provide customers with a clear, objective and informative view of partner 6 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com