Siemens AG, a global electronics and electrical engineering company, has extended its contract with Orange Business Services for a global "Siemens Digitalisation Network" (SDN) built on an SD-WAN infrastructure, connecting 1,500 sites in 94 countries.

In Africa, several countries will be impacted including Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.

In a statement the companies explain that under this new six-year contract, worth €240 million, Orange Business Services will migrate Siemens' entire global infrastructure to what is described as "a dynamic and flexible SD-WAN network" which will connect cloud applications as well as IoT devices.

Siemens says this will enable it to take full advantage of further digitalisation to improve its industry 4.0 processes.

"As a globally operating company with subsidiaries and divisions all over the world, we need a reliable and flexible communication network that is a critical business enabler and can evolve with our growing business," said Frederik Janssen, Head of Siemens IT Infrastructure Portfolio and Strategy.

"We chose Orange Business Services because we see it as a prime partner with the ability to deliver seamless worldwide SD-WAN coverage with the highest degree of security standards – especially to protect against threats from the Internet, quality of service, local support and an attractive price-performance ratio. We were also impressed by the flexibility and the service level Orange Business Services has been providing as a trusted partner to Siemens over the past several years."

Orange Business Services combines SD-WAN technology with cloud-and web-based services and solutions.

"With a single-point-of-contact service desk and local presence in 166 countries, Orange Business Services provides Siemens with managed network services in the 94 countries in which it operates. This builds on the long-standing cooperation and governance established throughout Siemens' worldwide divisions and the headquarters in Munich," the companies add.

Helmut Reisinger, Executive Vice President, International, Orange Business Services said, "We are pleased to have been chosen by Siemens to provide its future SDN network and manage its critical global communications infrastructure across all continents. Combining an innovative solution approach with specialization in providing robust seamless global network services, Orange Business Services has the end-to-end integration expertise to efficiently implement and manage projects of this scale, including all areas in fast-growing emerging markets and critical cyber defence components."

According to the Siemens 2017 African Digitalisation Maturity Report, by 2026 Africa's economy stands to gain a potential US$300 million from the adoption of digitalisation in industrial sectors.