The CEO of Orange Business Aliette Mousnier-Lompre (pictured) expressed confidence the unit could achieve its ambition of being Europe’s leading network and digital integrator, as she highlighted an expectation it will reach financial targets set for 2025.

Speaking at a media and analyst event in London, Mousnier-Lompre outlined progress in reshaping the division from its former guise of Orange Business Services and transforming its model, announced as part of a new group-wide strategy unveiled in 2022.

She explained one of its key differentiators against traditional integrators was existing network expertise from years in the communications industry, claiming it is able to go much further than rivals without this background by being able to build, deliver, integrate and orchestrate complex digital infrastructure.

“We occupy a sweet spot in the market at the intersection between the telco world and the IT world,” Mousnier-Lompre added, highlighting Orange had spotted the trend of convergence between the two 15 years ago, but this is now “becoming a reality” with the link between connectivity and digital “truer than ever in the age of AI”.

“AI is not new, but is clearly buzzing in the market and in this context we see organisations are considering the implications in the data layer…but also the infrastructure layer,” she said, adding using the technology at scale requires “advanced orchestration of distributed cloud-to-edge infrastructure, ultra-fast connectivity and multi-layered cybersecurity.”   

In terms of AI development, she noted the world was still in the experimentation years, though expected “business outcomes everywhere” in 2025.

Orange Business is aiming to aid enterprises across all facets of their digital transformation including cybersecurity and sustainability considerations.  

She noted the unit is currently at a “pivotal moment”, with its current transformation towards digital designed to return the division to “profitability growth by 2025”.