Orange Business has launched a dedicated Defense & Security Division to deliver sovereign, resilient digital infrastructure to France’s defense sector, combining 5G, fiber, satellite, AI, IoT, and cybersecurity tech.
New business unit – Orange DD&S focuses on France’s defense and homeland security, with plans to expand across NATO countries.
Full stack resiliency – the proposition combines Orange’s full tech stack, across private/public 5G, fiber, satellite, cloud, AI, IoT, and cyberdefense.
Sovereign and secure – are the watchwords; the new business is pitching to “strategic verticals” with “high-sovereignty stakes”
The enterprise-facing systems integration division of France-based operator Orange has created a new unit to serve the defense and “homeland security” sector – specifically in the “homeland of France”, with “future iterations” extending to other NATO countries in Europe. A press statement explained the move in terms of Orange’s focus on “strategic verticals” where “high-sovereignty stakes [are] a reality”. The idea is to combine cellular, fiber, satellite, and submarine networks, as provided by Orange Business, with its cybersecurity offer, via Orange Cyberdefense.
The new division – actually called Direction Défense & Sécurité (DD&S; Defense & Security Division) – brings together “several hundred experts” to supply resilient and secure networking infrastructure to government agencies and enterprises (“ministries, operators, and businesses”) in the national defense and security industries. Its stated remit is: “deployment of resilient connectivity solutions, hybridization of civilian and military networks, hosting of sensitive data, emergency communication systems, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.”
It will incorporate Orange’s enterprise connectivity offer, including private 5G and public 5G, plus wide-area network (WAN) solutions that also utilise fiber and satellite technologies, as well as sundry IoT and AI technologies, cloud and edge computing, and its whole cybersecurity proposition. It referenced certain of its assets: 5G network in France and Europe, 45,000 kilometres of terrestrial fiber, 2,500 satellite antennas, and 450,000 kilometres of submarine cables. Its Orange Cyberdefense proposition is the best in the business – it basically said.
It stated: “The defense and security sector… relies on cutting-edge technologies… and has high requirements for resilience and security. It demands a deep understanding of the needs of these actors, as well as a high level of data sovereignty, risk anticipation, operational excellence, and regulatory compliance… This division will bring together expertise from various group entities to ensure a comprehensive value chain, from technological innovation to operational maintenance, including the integration of digital solutions, security, resilience and service quality.”
The move aligns with the company’s ‘Lead the Future’ plan, it said. The business will be led by Nassima Auvray. She commented: “We are ideally positioned to meet the rapidly evolving needs of this highly specialized sector, which relies on civil solutions and contributes to building tomorrow’s secure digital infrastructure.”
Aliette Mousnier Lompré, chief executive at Orange Business, said: “Defense and security are complex and demanding sectors that require a specialized approach, dedicated expertise, and a nuanced understanding of sovereignty and resilience issues. That’s why we have decided to create the Defense & Security Division to harness Orange Business’s technological strength and operational excellence in serving key actors in this expanding sector.”
