Cramer Teams With Cap Gemini Ernst & Young For Faster Provisioning Of Backbone And XDSL Services To Telecom Companies

Belgacom France benefits from worldwide alliance agreement

Bath, England and Paris, France -  Monday 21 May, 2001: Cramer Systems, a leading European vendor of network management software, has entered into a worldwide agreement to supply Telecom Media Networks, an industry practice of the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Group, with Dimension Network Resource Management software. 

The latest telecom company to benefit from the worldwide alliance agreement between Cramer and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is Belgacom France, the independent French telecommunications operator and subsidiary of the Belgian national operator. Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is integrating Cramer Dimension into Belgacom's existing network management software. 

"Cramer Dimension will help us automate our network management procedures and speed up the roll-out of new services to our customers." says Patrick Bouffel, Belgacom France's Technical Director. "Initially we will use it to model and provision - or configure - our backbone network, which uses SDH fibre-optic ring technology and ATM switches. Later, we will use it to provision our Internet Protocol and ADSL local loop circuits."

 "Cramer Dimension proved to be the best fit for our needs and supports all of our target technologies including WLL, ATM, SDH/PDH, IP and ADSL," adds Patrick Bouffel. 

John Salter, European MD, Cramer Systems commented, "Cramer is committed to working with the world's leading systems integrators to deliver process automation to telecom companies so that they are able to meet ever increasing demand for services. Cap Gemini Ernst and Young is one of the world's largest management and IT consulting firms. Its endorsement of and support for Cramer Dimension will greatly enhance the market for our products."

Alexandre Haeffner, CEO of Telecom Media Networks comments: "The speed at which telecoms are able to deliver services is fast becoming the key differentiator. As a result of the alliance agreement, Cramer Dimension will be available to telecommunication companies as an integral part of our OSS strategic solution package."  

Cramer Dimension provides operators with the ability to maximise network utilisation, speed the roll-out of new services and manage network transitions between different technologies. Its powerful network modelling capability can be used to verify that new services can be delivered, allocate network resources to customers and configure a network. 

Subsequently, it can be used to check the operational consequences of network modifications and repair and service operations. By automating the provisioning process, it offers a critical competitive advantage, resulting in an earlier return-on-investment, longer-term operational efficiency and reduced costs through a more rapid service rollout.

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Cramer Systems:

Cramer Systems is Europe's leading supplier of "provisioning" software for the telecoms industry. Provisioning is the area of network management that turns customer requests into billable services, a market that is expected to grow to $3.9bn by 2003 (source: Dataquest). By automating and speeding up this process, Cramer's Dimension solutions help telecoms operators to earn revenue quicker, improve profitability and reliability, and gain competitive advantage.

Cramer delivers its products through its own direct sales force, embedded in systems from major equipment vendors and through solutions from the leading telecoms systems integrators.

Headquartered in Bath, England, the past year has seen Cramer quadruple in size. Dimension customers cover leading mobile (including 3G), convergent and fixed operators, including, KPN Telecom, KPN Mobile, Infostrada and Cegetel. 

About Belgacom France:

Belgacom France, alternative telecommunications operator specialised in the business to business sector has been present on the French market for four years.  With 11 agencies covering the French territory, Belgacom France serves 5000 clients by providing them with telephone service, data and telecommunications transmission.

Encouraged by Belgacom SA., the French subsidiary has entered into a new market this year with much success, that being a result of the attribution of several wireless local loop licences in 9 French regions to Belgacom France in 2000: Nord-Pas de Calais, Picardie, Haute et Basse-Normandie, Bretagne, Pays de Loire, Champagne-Ardenne, Auvergne and Franche-Comté.

About Cap Gemini Ernst & Young

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is one of the largest management and IT consulting firms in the world. The company offers management and IT consulting services, systems integration, and technology development, design and outsourcing capabilities on a global scale to help businesses continue to implement growth strategies and leverage technology in the new economy.  The organisation employs around 60,000 people worldwide and reports global revenues of about 8.5 billion euros. More information about individual service lines, offices and research is available at www.cgey.com

Telecom Media Networks

Telecom Media Networks, an industry practice of the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Group, focuses on the consulting needs of communications service providers worldwide. 

More information is available on www.cgey.com/TMN

Press Contacts for Cramer Systems:

Claire Rowberry / Geoff Callow                                        
GCI Financial Group
Tel:       +1 020 7398 0800
Fax:      +1 020 7398 0888
Email: crowberry@gcifinancial.com / gcallow@gcifinancial.com

Press Contact for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young:

Philippe Guichardaz
Corporate Press Relations
Tel: +33 (1) 47 54 50 00
Email: phguicha@capgemini.fr

Ellie Wallace
PR Director
Telecom Media Networks
Tel: +44 870 366 0307
Email: ellie.wallace@capgemini.co.uk

Belgacom France press contact:

Alethia LYRIOTAKIS
Communication Director
Tel: +33 (1) 70 60 64 26