Etisalat, Cisco strengthen strategic relationship

The partnership further strengthens the Etisalat and Cisco Managed Services Strategic Alliance, improving its capability to deliver managed services offerings to businesses across the UAE.

To earn Gold Certification, Etisalat had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco. With this achievement, Etisalat has become the first telecom service provider in the Gulf region to attain the prestigious Cisco Gold Certification status.

According to Abdulla Hashim, VP, Enterprise Solutions, Etisalat:

"In keeping with our objective to become a trusted ICT Partner, the Cisco Gold Certification will enable us to develop a broad range of integrated technology skills across Cisco technologies to deliver the integrated networking solutions customers are demanding today. This is yet another milestone towards enhancing our customer value proposition."

He added, "Achieving the Cisco Gold certification will give our customers the confidence that Etisalat has the capabilities, processes and technology to help companies through our end to end Managed Telecom & ICT Solutions."

Etisalat has also been working with Cisco to offer managed services, including Managed Router and Managed Unified Communications solutions, for SMBs and enterprises in the United Arab Emirates. The Managed Services offering enables customers to benefit from the latest communication infrastructure without the need to invest upfront, manage and maintain the network.

Tarek Jundi, General Manager, Cisco Abu Dhabi, said:

"Etisalat is now perfectly positioned to deliver industry leading managed services solutions focused on driving business efficiency and productivity. We see strong market potential for these services, particularly from small and medium businesses which consider the solution as a significant and cost effective business enabler."

Jundi continued, "As we see the UAE market mature, business demand on the network platform continues to increase. This increased demand combined with a need to focus on driving cost efficiencies will lead us to expect managed service deployments in the UAE to effectively "cross the chasm" and reach general pervasive deployment within the next 3 years."

Mr. Hashim added: "In a managed services structure, SMBs get a monthly invoice that covers the cost of the network equipment, maintenance and management. This will help remove budget issues, allowing companies to invest in the technology they require to improve business productivity and operational efficiency while minimizing costs."

As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, Etisalat has met the requirements for attaining the broadest range of expertise across multiple technologies by achieving the four following Cisco advanced specializations: Unified Communications, Routing and Switching, Security, and Wireless LAN. In addition, Etisalat has integrated Cisco Lifecycle Services into their offerings and is required to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco Gold Certification provides Etisalat access to comprehensive sales, technical, and lifecycle services training and support available from Cisco.