3.4.2014
Hrvatski Telekom (HT) and Cisco announced the extension of their business cooperation through certification of Cisco cloud and managed services, several innovative pilot projects and transfer of knowledge.
New services will be offered to users as a result of this extended cooperation. Moreover, the additional quality improvement of the existing services will be worked on.
"Our goal is not only to be the leading telecommunications service provider in Croatia, but to become a partner for integrated ICT services to all our business partner. We are going in that direction with every step we take. Our intention is that partnerships with leading ICT companies on the market, such as Cisco, bring us even closer to the top quality of services that we want to offer to our clients,“ said Jens Hartmann, member of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom and Chief Operating Officer Business.
“We spotted the increased need of our users – both big and small – for cloud and managed services – in Southeast Europe. Hrvatski Telekom has the appropriate ability and infrastructure to meet the demands of such companies and we are satisfied for establishing a partnership with HT so that we could work jointly on innovations and provide better services to our users,” said Peter Hajdu, general director of Cisco SEE.
Extended Cooperation Key Points
HT obtained a Cisco Master Partner Certificate for cloud and managed services as an important step in this cooperation. Could and Managed Services Program (CMSP) supports Cisco partners that sell and deliver cloud and managed services. This certificate serves as a formal recognition of HT's ability and expertise relevant for provision of high quality cloud solutions and managed services to customers in Croatia. By means of cloud and managed services, Croatian companies can ensure access to IT services in a more efficient way.
Furthermore, HT will be the first in the region to launch a cloud-based Meraki* solution (e.g. cloud technology based management of wireless gadgets and access points) whose advantages are well-accepted by users.
In terms of innovations, Hrvatski Telekom works on several interesting pilot projects, such as TeraStream, a software defined network (SDN) concept that enables simpler implementation and integration of advanced services provided by means of cloud computing, including the traditional telecommunications services such as voice service, IPTV and Internet access. TeraStream is a global innovation presented for the first time by Hrvatski Telekom and Deutsche Telekom in December 2012. This innovative network technology increases the access network speed 50 time compared to the current speed. This provides customers with a speed of 1 Gbit/s. Recently, on the TV Connect Conference in London, HT and Cisco announced a new pilot project: the first video implementation via IPv6 outside the North America. This will enable users to access cloud content and services regardless of their location, by means of every gadget.
This extended cooperation between HT and Cisco will also provide support to training of employees. Various Cisco educational programs are available to HT experts working in sales, marketing and technology so that that could acquire top knowledge related to the latest technology directly from world leaders in the field of network technologies and become reliable advisors to their customers.
*In 2012, Cisco acquired Meraki, a leading company in the filed of cloud networks. Meraki offers cloud managed network solutions, including wireless technology, network switches and security. In this way, Meraki ensures visibility and control to network administrators, without cost and complexity of the traditional architectures.