Merck Renews Global Contract Extension with Orange Business Solutions

The global pharmaceutical and chemical company, Merck has signed a contract extension with Orange (News - Alert) Business Services for the delivery of an IP VPN, which the company says will aid in facilitating secure connectivity to 180 locations around the world.

Orange Business Services (News - Alert) will provide Merck with video collaboration tools as well as a suite of business services to help improve the performance of applications through a newly optimized communications infrastructure.

Dr. Peter Emele, director of Global eWorkplace and Communications at Merck, explained that the main rationale for the contract extension was to find a reliable partner able of protecting their business processes.

"Orange Business Services was the first choice for us”, said Dr. Emele. “In addition, amidst the political upheaval in Egypt and the nuclear reactor catastrophe in Japan, Orange proved itself capable of securing our global production through tailored business continuity solutions."

Equally as important is the ability for Orange Business Services to integrate sites of acquired companies seamlessly, such as the 30 sites of Millipore, the U.S. biotech company that Merck acquired in 2010. The global orientation and the company's flexibility in terms of contractual conditions and service level agreements were also cited as key criteria in the Merck decision.

Dr. Helmut Reisinger, senior vice president for Europe at Orange Business Services, said he is delighted by Merck's vote of confidence. Merck previously awarded the global business operation a five-year extension in 2008.

Merck sites use a range of access solutions based on business requirements from Small Office Solutions using an xDSL-based, 2Mbps connection for small to medium-sized locations up to a Gigabit Ethernet for its mission-critical sites.