Orange Business Services has signed a contract with Merck, a leading science and technology company, to deploy a 200-site, next-generation network that will support its digital transformation initiatives. The network and related services will reduce complexity throughout Merck’s infrastructure and enable an unprecedented level of collaboration.

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Orange Business Services deploys 200-site next-generation network for Merck, a leading science and t ...

Orange Business Services deploys 200-site next-generation network for Merck, a leading science and technology company. Photo credit: © Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany.

The contract between Merck and Orange Business Services builds on their existing relationship. The complete solution comprises a global wide area network (WAN), network traffic optimization using Riverbed technology, management of local area networks (LAN), remote access services, regional Internet access points and audio conferencing services.

“Merck is a company with a 350-year tradition, and you can’t be a leader for such a long time without striving to be at the cutting-edge of innovation. This is precisely what Merck is doing here, and we are very proud to contribute to their digital transformation at a global level,” said Anne-Sophie Lotgering, senior vice president, Europe, Russia and CIS, Orange Business Services.

Orange redesigned Merck’s global network and incorporated optimization technologies delivered via Enterprise Application Management Riverbed. It uses Riverbed’s SteelHead CX to enhance the performance of all applications, including on-premise, cloud and SaaS, across multiple networks (MPLS, private VPN and public Internet). This provides improved performance, optimization and consolidation to support the growing number of users, devices and sites.

“Continuous real-time connectivity for all communication channels is crucial to improve our employee productivity and ensure seamless customer interaction. We are pleased to be working with Orange Business Services to jointly develop game-changing digital capabilities that will drive business performance,” says James E Stewart, CIO of Merck.

About Merck
Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life – from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2015, Merck generated sales of € 12.85 billion in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.

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.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and our blogs.

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with annual sales of 40 billion euros in 2015 and has 155,000 employees worldwide at 31 March 2016. 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.