he Belgian Federal Public

Service of Foreign Affairs

( FPS FA ) has signed a new agreement with Orange Business Services to transform its global communications infrastructure . The renewed and expanded contract overhauls network , security and application infrastructure across 118 locations in 87 countries . Additional network resilience is supported through fully integrated satellite services . The solutions will help deliver the high level of performance , resilience and security required by diplomatic staff to support Belgium ’ s interests and citizens abroad .

Our partnership with Orange Business Services is the embodiment of a longterm vision strategy for the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is centred around security , agility and innovation .

challenges to deploy network equipment in all parts of the world .

A decade of trusted partnership

Orange Business Services began supporting the Belgian Federal Public Service of Foreign Affairs over a decade ago in 2008 . In 2015 , Orange Business Services was chosen to secure mobile devices access to messaging systems , applications and data to prevent data loss and theft . It was a key first step in creating a secure mobile workspace as part of the Digital Transformation of the Ministry .

The new solutions support the Ministry ’ s cloud migration to Office 365 and its requirement to centralise critical data in Belgium . Flexible SD-WAN will ensure network and cloud connectivity with strong security and application optimisation . Flexibility is guaranteed with Universal CPEs deployed at sites for virtualised services , with satellite being a natural extension for remote locations . There will also be a refresh of the wireless and LAN infrastructures in all locations , and managed security will be provided both at the network level and within the cloud .

The agreement includes an annual innovation fund of € 800,000 for projects

to help the Belgian Ministry stay at the forefront of technology development . The first of many co-innovation projects focuses on Master Data Management led by the Orange company Business and Decision .

Workspace of the future

As part of the managed Office 365 solution , Orange Business Services will also provide services on a unified communications solution based on Microsoft Teams to help deliver the workspace of the future for its diplomats . This involves the migration of all its sites to the new system , along with the provision of Direct Routing and Business Talk , which will help to significantly reduce calling expenses .

The Flexible SD-WAN solution using Universal CPEs based at the remote sites provides network function virtualisation ( NFV ). The technology gives the Ministry agility to install and manage network functions remotely , which is a clear advantage considering

“ Our partnership with Orange Business Services is the embodiment of a longterm vision strategy for the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is centered around security , agility and innovation . Orange proved to be the perfect partner to modernise our infrastructure and with the Innovation Fund , we will make sure that our organisation is agile and swift enough to serve our organisation ’ s needs today and tomorrow ,” said Philip Dumortier , ICT Director , Belgian Federal Public Service of Foreign Affairs .

“ This new agreement is a key step in furthering the transformation of the Belgian FPS FA . Orange has extended knowledge in this field serving tens of different Ministries of Foreign Affairs worldwide . We are incredibly excited to continue this partnership with a focus on innovation to help deepen our expertise as the best partner to protect data of Belgian officials and citizens abroad ,” said Fabrice de Windt , Senior Vice President , Europe , Orange Business Services . u

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