Ooredoo sees significant opportunities for growth across its business-to-business (B2B) customer base in the MENA region and Southeast Asia, seeking to tap the estimated US$10 billion market with an enhanced strategy unveiled today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The company already has a strong presence in the B2B market, generating more than US$1 billion revenue from B2B services in 2014, with nine-month year-on-year growth up 10 percent and B2B customers up 25 percent.
However, with an estimated nine million companies present in its core markets of Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman and Myanmar, Ooredoo is looking to build upon its leadership position in the coming years and fully realise its opportunities.
Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “Ooredoo is aiming to make 2015 a year of ‘smart solutions’ and in particular we are targeting growth in the B2B sector. After significant investment in bigger, faster networks, and the development of key infrastructure such as data centres, Ooredoo is ideally positioned to be the business partner of choice in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. We see huge opportunities for growth in smart business services, as companies in our footprint continue to invest in ICT to support their wider ambitions.”
The company has assembled a dedicated team of more than 1,100 business service professionals as part of its “Ooredoo Business” unit, aiming to enhance the company’s corporate focus across its primary markets. Ooredoo has also established a Sales Academy where more than 600 sales team members are being trained in best-in-class sales techniques for business services.
Reflecting the success of this approach, Ooredoo Business has signed numerous landmark agreements over the past 12 months, including a major deal to provide embedded data solutions with Intel devices in Indonesia and a total Cloud and VPN infrastructure solution of 87 sites for Poulina Holding in Tunisia. In Qatar, Ooredoo recently signed an agreement to build an exclusive global media solution for Al Jazeera, which will connect Al Jazeera’s main hubs in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia and Africa, as well as linking various bureaus around the world.
Ooredoo offers a broad portfolio of solutions, including connectivity, convergence and cloud services, and is applying its expertise to innovative new areas, such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.
One of Ooredoo Business’ first major launches is a pan- regional cloud-based M2M platform with Ericsson, which enables companies to implement vertical “Internet of Things” solutions quickly and more easily. With a “build once, deploy many” approach and by adopting a cloud-first principle for all of its product management, Ooredoo has cut time to market by 75% and radically reduced its costs to deliver these solutions.
Ooredoo also continues to enhance its leadership role in Smart City technologies, building on its expertise in this area and recognising the growing demand for such services across its global footprint. More than ten major cities within Ooredoo footprint are classified as “mega-cities” hosting a population of more than ten million, and more are set to join them in the coming years, as rural populations move into the bigger urban areas.
At Mobile World Congress, Ooredoo has a special M2M demonstration area showcasing some of the cutting-edge solutions already being implemented by the Group, including new innovations for the energy, transport and financial sectors. It will also display the latest generation of “smart solutions.”
