Microsoft, Etisalat sign global framework agreement

Global software giant Microsoft and U.A.E.'s telecom major Etisalat have signed a global framework agreement to enable the telco's operations across 15 countries to leverage the power of the Microsoft platform; enhancing productivity and driving operational excellence based on a "Mobile First, Cloud First" strategy.
With operations across 3 continents, the agreement will enable Etisalat to leverage the unique offering of Office 365 to provide enterprise grade social networking and collaboration tools such as Yammer, Lync and SharePoint to reduce communication barriers across the group, enhance information sharing, transfer knowledge and drive market agility.
Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Samer Abu Ltaif, General Manager, Microsoft Gulf, said, "At Microsoft, we are obsessed with providing our customers with technology innovation that enables them to be more productive in a mobile-first, cloud-first world. We are honoured to work with Etisalat on such a global scale to leverage the power of Microsoft communication and collaboration tools which have been designed to assist large and small business enterprises reduce the complexity and costs associated with running their businesses. Through tools such as Office 365, Lync and SharePoint, time will be saved and significant value will be added to business with an efficient IT deployment." "This agreement will also enable Etisalat to build a strong, unified, flexible platform to meet its unique organisational and operational needs, whether in the cloud, hybrid, or on-premises." Commenting on the agreement, Hatem Bamatraf, Chief Technology Officer of Etisalat Group said that "This collaboration with Microsoft is an important one, that we believe will improve our ability to communicate across multiple markets, share information and best practice effectively, and standardise performance across all geographies. With unique collaboration and social networking tools from Microsoft, we can better empower our employees with information anytime, anywhere across any platform to provide the best in class experience for our customers." Obaid Bokisha, Chief Procurement Officer of Etisalat Group added, "The global framework agreement will enable Etisalat Group take advantage of Economies of scale to drive cost efficiencies, streamline our operations through standardisation and drive market agility while taking into consideration our current and future growth plans." Microsoft's Yammer is a cloud based enterprise social network tool accessible only within its global organisation. Yammer will enable Etisalat employees to connect, find and share information.
Microsoft Lync is an enterprise-ready unified communications platform. Lync connects people everywhere, on Windows and other operating systems including mobile devices, as part of their everyday productivity experience. Lync provides a consistent, single client experience for presence, instant messaging, voice, video and a great meeting experience. Lync users can connect to anyone on Skype, enabling rich communication with hundreds of millions of people around the world.
SharePoint Server technology helps users manage and share personal documents and insights with colleagues, keep teams in sync with shared document libraries, task lists and calendars and stay up to date with company information and news.