Orange and Akamai form Content Delivery Strategic Alliance

PARIS and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• Orange selects Akamai as a partner to develop a comprehensive Content Delivery Network (CDN) solution.
• Orange and Akamai to jointly explore innovation in areas such as content optimization and acceleration services for mobile.  

Orange, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, and Akamai Technologies, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of cloud infrastructure and CDN services, have announced today a strategic alliance to address the growing needs of the enterprise sector for improved content delivery. Orange has agreed to use technology from Akamai's Aura Network Solutions to provide CDN services to business customers. Upon deployment, the operator's enterprise division Orange Business Services will market these solutions initially in France. In addition, the two groups have formed an innovation steering committee to identify areas of innovation in the field of CDN solutions.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100225/AKAMAILOGO )

With best-of-breed content delivery network (CDN) solutions based on Akamai technology, Orange will address the exponential increase in web-based traffic, in particular HD video and e-commerce services. CDN systems use a widely-distributed network of servers to spread content that would otherwise be concentrated in a few locations. The result is greater network efficiency and a more secure system, as well as better service quality for end users by improving uptime, and enabling faster access and download speeds.

Through this partnership, Orange aims to meet its business customers' needs, particularly in the media and e-commerce markets, by providing cutting-edge video solutions and web-acceleration services.

The partnership between the two companies is intended to provide enterprises with access to Akamai's optimization and acceleration technologies through Orange Business Services. By combining Akamai's expertise in improving Internet performance for end users across multiple devices with Orange's network, both companies look to address the growing market demand for content delivery.

Today's news brings together two major players in their respective industries with the aim of developing and offering innovative solutions for optimizing online media, web-based applications and mobile content. In addition, Akamai and Orange will also jointly explore areas of innovation to bring new solutions to market.

"We see great potential in this partnership with Akamai," said Gilles Prunier, Senior Vice President in charge of the Smart Networks program at Orange. "Developing an Orange CDN service, powered by Akamai, will allow us to enrich our existing BtoB services portfolio and to support our customers' growth by providing them with new and differentiated web features that improve the end-user experience and ultimately increase customer loyalty."

"Akamai and Orange have a history of bringing unique and innovative solutions to address enterprises' needs," said Mark Vargo, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Akamai EMEA. "By combining the strengths of two leading technology companies in a single partnership, we believe we can provide enterprises in the French market with a robust and comprehensive set of acceleration and optimization offerings that will help address all aspects of their online businesses."

The partnership, which reflects a binding Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies, is subject to the execution of one or more definitive agreements setting forth the final terms and conditions for the companies' activities.

About Akamai

Akamai^® (NASDAQ: AKAM) is the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere.  At the core of the Company's solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform™ providing extensive reach, coupled with unmatched reliability, security, visibility and expertise.  Akamai removes the complexities of connecting the increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud.  To learn more about how Akamai is accelerating the pace of innovation in a hyperconnected world, please visit www.akamai.com or blogs.akamai.com, and follow @Akamai on Twitter.

About Orange

France Telecom-Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with sales of 45.3 billion euros for 2011 and has 170,000 employees worldwide at 30 September 2012, including 105,000 employees in France. Present in 33 countries, the Group has a total customer base of 227 million customers at 30 September 2012, including 169 million mobile customers and 15 million broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

With its industrial project, "conquests 2015", Orange is simultaneously addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group's ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international development.

France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more information (on the internet and on your mobile): www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv or to follow us on Twitter: @presseorange.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.

Akamai Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
This release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai's management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, failure of Akamai and Orange to enter into a definitive agreement setting forth the terms of the partnership; failure of Orange and Akamai technologies to work together or work together adequately to provide expected benefits from the alliance; the effects of any attempts to intentionally disrupt Akamai's services or network or Orange's network  or products by hackers or others, the failure of the CDN market to develop as predicted, a failure of Akamai's network infrastructure, and other factors that are discussed in Akamai's Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.

SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.