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Mark McCallum, Orange Business ServicesMark McCallum, Orange Business Services


Orange telecom’s business-to-business arm has bought Atheos for an undisclosed amount, in a bid to strengthen its role in the cyber defence space.

Business Services says the deal makes it the largest European cyber defence company, and strengthens its position in advanced services. The move will also increase its offerings in Africa, where it already has a presence in 40 countries.

Mark McCallum, the unit’s head of global services for Africa, explains: “Managed is vital to the African and South African markets, where we have a strong focus on the financial services and mining verticals.”

Business Services has said it wants to almost double revenue from Africa to €7 billion by 2015, and it seeks to entrench its position on the continent. Revenue from the continent is anticipated to grow 20% a year, from the current €4 billion of the unit’s €7 billion in annual revenue. Business Services has 21 000 staff, in 166 countries, and more than 3 000 multinational clients. In Middle East and Africa, has 2 000 “feet on the ground”. Its new acquisition, and its current offerings, will be rebranded to Cyberdefense.

McCallum says Business Services has a number of key customers in Africa to which it has provided services, which range from dedicated standalone to fully-managed perimeter protection.

“We will undoubtedly be offering our local clients the benefits of Cyberdefense going forward.”

Founded in 2002, Atheos provides IT identity and management in the French market. It has 130 staff in the cyber field. Business Services offers managed and integrated solutions in 220 countries and territories, and has eight operations centres globally to monitor these solutions.