Etisalat selects Alcatel-Lucent’s IP telephony solutions for a unique approach to Unified Communications across its offices in the UAE

Paris – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has been selected by Etisalat, the UAE’s leading telecommunications service provider, for the turnkey deployment of the state-of-the-art IP-based telephony solutions across Etisalat’s offices in the UAE. The project will be carried on through Alcatel-Lucent’s premium business partner in the UAE, Al-Futtaim Technologies.

Under the terms of the agreement, a complete state-of-the-art, secure, integrated communications solution will be installed throughout Etisalat’s offices, including voice communications, VoIP, LAN and VPN solutions. The solution is based on the Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise IP telephony platform and Alcatel-Lucent My Instant Communicator Unified Communications solution.

“Our objective is to provide a unified communications software suite that would offer a state-of-the-art integrated user experience across all communication mediums and devices to our employees in order to enable optimal collaboration across our organization,” said Essa Al Haddad, Chief Marketing Officer for Etisalat UAE. “We would like to help our employees to collaborate and share knowledge in real time while helping simplify organizational communication and improve productivity, job satisfaction and overall performance; and we are confident that Alcatel-Lucent will support us achieving this vision,” he added.

The new solution will support 10,000 IP users in a pure VoIP deployment over eight main sites, with 3,500 My Instant Communicator users to enable optimal collaboration with a full integration of existing business applications including complete support for the IBM Lotus Sametime 7.5 environment, accessible from any computer, IP phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). It also comprises integration with the operator’s network management platform, contact center and a total of 3,500 fax-server users.

“Etisalat chose Alcatel-Lucent’s IP solution to boost the efficiency of its employees, be more competitive and generate new business, hence increase productivity, improve customer relations, and reduce costs,” said Venkat Raghavan, General Manager, Al-Futtaim Technologies. As one of the most forward-thinking telecom operators, Etisalat has found the benefits of an IP communications deployment extend far beyond cost savings.

“Alcatel-Lucent is committed to helping organizations like Etisalat transform their operations to become more dynamic and better utilize their networks, people, processes and company knowledge to leverage a competitive advantage,” said Jan Zuurbier the Vice-President for Alcatel-Lucent enterprise activities in Emerging Countries. “By deploying advanced IP telephony and collaboration solutions, enterprises not only stand to make immediate improvements to service provision, but they will also gain greater intelligence and insight into their internal processes, helping to deliver further efficiency improvements going forward,” he added.

About the Alcatel-Lucent solution
The network IP telephony solution will be based on Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise IP telephony platform and Alcatel-Lucent My Instant Communicator Unified Communications solution, which unites a wide range of communication services in a single user interface: telephony, messaging services, and collaborative messaging and video, one-number services, and extensive presence services through telephony and instant messaging.

About Etisalat
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, Etisalat, is considered a pioneering telecom operator in the Middle East region. Etisalat has operations and investments in 18 markets across Asia and Africa and has a stated aim of being among the top 10 telecom operators in the world by 2010. It aims to achieve this goal by providing latest telecommunications services and solutions, and by expanding through local and international investment to meet and exceed customers’ expectations. Etisalat has been ranked among the Top 500 Corporations in the world by Financial Times and the sixth largest Middle East Corporation by The Middle East magazine. For more information, visit Etisalat on the Internet: external linkhttp://www.etisalat.ae

About Al-Futtaim Technologies
Al-Futtaim Technologies, the award winning regional leaders in systems integration and a member of Al-Futtaim, provides complete business solutions to large, medium and small customers. These include Networking solutions, IP Telephony, Infrastructure, Contact Centre solutions, Business applications, ELV Systems, Professional Audio Visual Solutions, and Managed Services. Al-Futtaim Technologies provides a comprehensive range of solutions by working with best-in-class brands such as Panasonic, Alcatel-Lucent and Microsoft Business Solutions amongst others to deliver a full spectrum of business solutions to customers. With the recent acquisition of Dubai-based Futech Software Solutions, Al-Futtaim Technologies has expanded its service offering to include IT consulting. Futech’s expertise includes business strategy, best practices/ standards and procedures, business and technology architecture, program and project management, technology development, integration, implementation, and change management. For more info, visit: external linkhttp://www.al-futtaim.com/

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com