BARCELONA – 23^rd February, 2016: At Mobile World Congress, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), a leading mobile and data service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announced the signing of a 5-year agreement with Cisco to provide next-generation Cloud and Managed Services solutions.

The deal sees Cisco expand its current scope of work to include management and operation of Mobily’s network, including third-party vendor equipment and devices across multiple markets, bringing Mobily enhanced automation and efficiency gains. Cisco’s Managed Services solutions combine the company’s renowned networking expertise and intellectual capital with analytics and real-time device monitoring to improve overall reliability and performance. This will reduce the number of human resources interventions in Mobily’s network operations, delivering significant cost savings. Cisco’s Managed Services solution is expected to significantly reduce Mobily’s operating expenses.

Changing customer dynamics, the growth in connected devices and processes, and increased traffic demands are putting new pressure on service providers. Cisco’s comprehensive service offering will provide complete monitoring, management, and support of multivendor infrastructure and applications to increase agility of Mobily’s business operations. This will enable Mobily to focus on its strategy of driving service innovation and helping to accelerate revenue growth by bringing new services to market faster.

As part of the new Cloud and Managed Services agreement, Cisco’s tools, resources and processes will allow many solutions to work together as one open architecture to create a platform of possibilities. The solutions have been developed on a modular model to allow future expansion and support Mobily’s development of new experiences for consumers and businesses.

By simplifying operations, Mobily will be able to accelerate time to value and respond faster to market changes. Cisco’s capabilities will also enable Mobily to provide improved network reliability and service consistency as demands on its network increase, positioning the service provider to take full advantage of the unprecedented opportunities created by the advent of big data and the Internet of Things.

Executive Quotes:

Ashraf Ismail Mohamed Ibrahim, Senior Executive Officer, Technology Operations, Mobily: “This agreement builds on our longstanding collaboration with Cisco and paves the way toward enhanced network performance and operational efficiencies. This represents a significant milestone in our evolution as we continue on our journey to deliver superior service levels and develop new offerings that meet fast-evolving customer and business demands.”

Andy MacDonald, Vice President, Global Service Provider, Middle East, Africa & Russia: “The awarding of a broader mandate for Cloud and Managed Services to Cisco reflects the confidence in our solutions to deliver tangible business value. We are committed to supporting leading service providers like Mobily in achieving the most value from new technology investments to attract more revenue growth, increase overall operational agility and enable better customer experiences.”

Links / URLs:

• For more details about Cisco Service Provider solutions visit:  http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/index.html
• Middle East News:  http://newsroom.cisco.com/me

Supporting Resources

• Cisco newsroom
• Cisco SP360: Service Provider blog
• Information on Cisco’s Service Provider business
• Information on the Cisco Ultra Services Platform
• Read the complete Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2015–2020 white paper
• For information about Cisco's service provider news and activities visit the SP360 Blog or follow us on Twitter @CiscoSPmobility
• The Platform: Cisco corporate blog
• Join our Mobile World Congress conversation at #ciscomwc

About Mobily

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) was established in 2004 by a consortium led by Etisalat, the UAE based telecom conglomerate. Mobily is the official brand name of Etihad Etisalat, renowned as the second mobile service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The awarded 25-Year telecommunication mobile license was complemented by a subsequent purchase of a 3G license. Mobily is the 1st Saudi communications company to get an operation license for 3rd generation services and beyond. In December 2004, Mobily was listed on Tadawul Stock Exchange. Today, Mobily equates to 40%+ market share of the mobile subscriptions in the Kingdom.  In March 2008, Mobily was granted approval by CITC (Communication and Information Technology Commission) to acquire Bayanat al-Oula which was a licensed Data Service Provider for a price of SAR 1.5 Billion. And, in November 2008, Mobily acquired absolute majority stakes in Zajil, the leading Saudi ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Mobily owns vast majority shares in the Saudi National Fiber Network (SNFN) composed with 12,800 KM of structured fiber cable, panned into 7 fully protected rings covering 35 Saudi cities plus access to 60 major hub sites for telecommunications prime points of presence, and complimented with 20 inter-metropolis fiber loops in major Saudi cities. Furthermore, Mobily is a lead investor in prime global submarine cable projects that are expected to be operational in the near future. http://www.mobily.com.sa

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