Cotecna Expands Reach into Africa with Hybrid Network from Orange Business Services

Cotecna, one of the world’s leading international testing, inspection and certification companies has extended its hybrid network contract with Orange Business Services. The company, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, needed a smart and cost-effective way to connect remote sites in Africa and around the globe. The Orange solution comprises Business VPN with satellite and internet for 53 Cotecna sites in 29 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe.

Cotecna has been a global expert in the inspection industry for over 40 years. It specializes in solutions that help governments combat fraud, protect customs revenue, maintain internal security and facilitate lawful commercial exchanges at national borders. The company also provides the private sector with a wide range of testing, inspection and certification services, as well as assistance in trade finance services and electronic documentation.

Connecting remote locations in Africa
Over the last few years, Cotecna’s business has expanded significantly in the private sector. To stay competitive for both public and private customers, Cotecna developed a five-year digital transformation plan to simplify and reduce the administrative work of customs agents. The network is at the core of this plan, and Cotecna needed a partner with a global footprint that could reach remote sites, particularly in Africa. Orange achieved this with a hybrid network solution that incorporated satellite connectivity.

In addition to the hybrid network, Orange Business Services also helped extend Cotecna’s Cotrack solution into Burkina Faso and Senegal with local M2M connectivity. Using M2M technology, Cotrack helps governments fight fraud and secure the transport of sensitive merchandise. Orange Business Services and Cotecna first entered into a partnership to provide secure M2M tracking and transit monitoring solutions in 2012.

“Orange Business Services have an excellent global footprint with a specific focus on Africa. Seamless global communication, especially in hard-to-reach locations, is key for us. Furthermore, Orange also met our expectations in regards to being as cost-effective as possible. Their tailored design met all of our needs,” says Laurent Vouriot, Head of IT Infrastructure & Operations at Cotecna.

“The extension of Cotecna’s hybrid network contract demonstrates our global expertise particularly with very remote locations. The continued excellent partnership between both companies will enable Cotecna to expand their business on a global scale, support them for both their public and private customers and help them reduce their costs,” says Anne-Sophie Lotgering, senior vice president, Europe, Russia and CIA, Orange Business Services.

About Cotecna
Founded in Switzerland in 1974, the Cotecna group offers a wide range of Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) services. Cotecna is a pioneer in areas such as risk management, destination inspection and scanner integration projects and also offers customs modernization programs, customs valuation assistance, trade security solutions and commercial inspections. For a full description of our services, please visit www.cotecna.com. The Cotecna Group has a combined workforce of about 4,000 employees and agents in more than 150 offices. For more information visit www.cotecna.com.

About Orange Business Services
Orange Business Services, the Orange branch dedicated to B2B services, is not only a telecom operator, but also an IT solutions integrator and applications developer in France and around the world. Its 20,000 employees support companies in all areas of their digital transformation: mobile and collaborative workspaces; IT/cloud infrastructure; fixed and mobile connectivity; private and hybrid networks; applications for Internet of Things, 360° customer experience and Big Data analytics; and cybersecurity thanks to dedicated experts and infrastructure to protect information systems. More than 3,000 multinational organizations and 2 million SOHOs, enterprises and local authorities in France rely on Orange Business Services as their trusted partner.

Learn more at www.orange-business.comor follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and our blogs.

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with annual sales of 39 billion euros in 2014 and has 157,000 employees worldwide at 30 September 2015. Orange is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151215005977/en/