Orange Business: Moving AI Transformation Beyond Automation
The last decade has witnessed unprecedented transformation across the digital landscape, driven by the convergence of cloud computing, advanced connectivity and AI.
At the forefront of this ongoing evolution stands Orange Business, the enterprise division of Orange S.A., positioning itself not just as a telecoms operator but as a strategic digital services integrator.
Orange Business operates as the enterprise-focused arm of Orange S.A., headquartered in France. It is active in 65 countries and serves clients in more than 220 countries and territories.
With approximately 30,000 professionals worldwide, Orange Business supports over 65,000 businesses, including more than 3,700 large multinational corporations.
Its core offerings span secure, scalable network infrastructure, end-to-end cloud services, comprehensive cybersecurity, unified communications and advanced IoT and smart solutions.
This breadth enables Orange Business to deliver integrated digital transformation strategies that enhance operational efficiency and foster innovation across sectors.
Julien Sicart, SVP of the Digital Services Business Line, encapsulates the company’s dual heritage: “We serve B2B customers worldwide that combine elements of a telco and a systems integrator. Our approach focuses on supporting customers in their digital transformation and our Digital Services business line primarily delivers cloud and AI-based solutions.”
Julien’s career mirrors the industry’s evolution. He started on the mobile side, leading partnerships with major players like Google, Apple, Samsung and Huawei during the birth of the smartphone era.
He later transitioned to B2B domains, focusing on networks, IT and international roles.
“I previously served as CIO for Orange Business and, 10 months ago, I transitioned to a marketing role where I now lead our digital services division,” he explains, highlighting the blend of technical expertise and strategic vision that now shapes Orange Business’s approach to enterprise services.
The Three-Layered Value of AI for Enterprises
AI is often associated with automation and cost reduction.
But, Julien sees a broader opportunity: “At Orange Business, we see AI as a true driver of transformation, enabling enterprises to generate value, increase revenue and grow their business. Internally, we’re targeting double-digit growth in AI and actively using it to improve our operational efficiency, which our customers rightly expect from us. At the same time, my business line focuses on developing AI-driven services that directly support revenue generation for our clients.”
Orange Business structures its AI value proposition in three distinct layers:
- The Infrastructure Layer forms the foundation, encompassing data storage and compute capabilities such as GPUs. “When we talk about infrastructure for AI, it’s fundamentally about data, how it’s stored and accessed. You need the ability to store large volumes of data and retrieve it quickly and efficiently. As a telco, we have a strong legacy in building and managing digital infrastructure on a global scale. It’s a core strength of ours and an area where we’ve made significant investments. Without such infrastructure, you can’t build or scale AI.”
- The Platform Layer is the next, involving the operation of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI algorithms. Rather than developing proprietary LLMs, Orange Business partners with leading European startups like LightOn and Mistral AI. “At Orange Business, we’ve chosen not to develop our large language model. Instead, we’re partnering with leading providers to offer this capability to our customers.”
- The Solution Layer is where AI becomes actionable, delivering specific use cases through solutions like Live Intelligence. “At Orange Business, we’ve developed a solution called Live Intelligence, which enables customers to run large language models on their infrastructure. It allows them to create and deliver tailored use cases that generate real business value.”
Orange Business’ approach is holistic, combining these technical layers with a strong service dimension, including consulting, IT integration, data governance and change management.
Julien notes: “To give you an idea of the value, for every €1 we generate from selling Live Intelligence, we’re delivering €3 in related services. It highlights just how important the services component is; it’s essential to making any AI transformation successful.”
Democratising AI for SMEs
While large enterprises often dominate the AI conversation, Orange Business focuses on ensuring that advanced digital tools are accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“The group is a significant segment for Orange Business. More broadly, Orange has always had democratising technology in its DNA and as someone deeply committed to SMEs, that mission resonates strongly with me,” Julien explains.
Orange Business embodies its commitment through Live Intelligence, its flagship AI solution.
Designed with simplicity in mind, it features a conversational interface and predefined libraries of use cases to help SMEs deploy and benefit from AI without needing extensive IT resources.
“The interface is very straightforward. As I mentioned, it’s been refined based on feedback from our 80,000 users, is easy to use and equipped with predefined action libraries,” Julien adds.
Orange Business streamlines its integration, enabling non-technical administrators to tailor the solution to their specific business needs.
Recognising the cost sensitivities of SMEs, Orange Business has introduced a “try-and-buy” approach and a “discovery pack” that lowers barriers to entry and provides tailored support.
“For SMEs, having a predictable and easy-to-understand pricing structure is essential. That’s why we’ve combined a try-and-buy model with what we call a discovery pack, a straightforward, pre-packaged support offer,” Julien says.
By using a multi-LLM, multi-model strategy, customers avoid vendor lock-in, ensuring flexibility and protecting their investments for the future.
“We offer our customers a multi-technology approach that leverages the best available solutions. It enables us to do two key things. First, we simplify the underlying technology so our customers don’t have to deal with its complexity. And second, especially important for large companies, is the trust and reliability that our solution provides.”
The telco advantage in the AI marketplace
As telcos move deeper into AI services, they face competition from cloud hyperscalers and nimble startups.
Julien is clear about Orange Business’s differentiators: “The first key point is our ability to offer a product along with supporting services. Smart startups often approach us when they’re looking to scale and need help guiding their customers through more complex integrations. They seek partnerships to see if we can support them on the service layer - which I mentioned earlier - something that small startups typically lack.
“At Orange Business, our focus is less on technology itself and more on creating value for our customers. While we operate on a global scale, our local presence enables us to really understand our customers’ business challenges. The proximity to our clients is essential and with our extensive footprint, it’s something that sets Orange Business apart in the industry and the broader ecosystem.”
With a focus on the “three Cs” - cloud, connectivity and cybersecurity - Orange Business is in a unique position to address end-to-end enterprise challenges while upholding a strong commitment to responsible AI and trust. “We are deeply committed to developing responsible AI and building trust,”
Julien explains. “As a telco, we have extensive experience handling sensitive information and operating within strict regulatory frameworks. It positions us well to offer trustworthy solutions to our customers.”
Navigating data privacy and regulation
Data inextricably links to the monetisation of AI and Orange Business understands the regulatory landscape acutely.
“As a telco, it’s a highly regulated industry, as you know. We are used to managing regulations and integrity. Ethics is really at the core of our strategic plan,” Julien explains.
Orange Business balances innovation, compliance and cost through a “triangle” approach: “Our role is to find the right balance for our customers across three key dimensions: innovation, compliance and cost. At Orange Business, we often say that customers want the innovation of US technology, the trust and regulatory standards of Europe and the competitive pricing of China or India. That is a combination that’s challenging to achieve, but one we strive to deliver.”
To ensure responsible AI, Orange Business has implemented robust governance structures, including a Responsible AI By Design framework, multidisciplinary ethics committees and regular audits.
“We’ve trained 50,000 employees on responsible AI and have successfully scaled the training across the company. We’ve even made these programs available to our customers because building the understanding is absolutely essential for us.”
Industry impact: Where AI will matter most
Looking ahead, Julien sees AI transforming every vertical.
“If I had to highlight a few sectors where we see AI being truly transformative, manufacturing is an obvious one. Healthcare is another critical area with enormous potential. Then logistics is a third as they involve vast amounts of data and complexity, making them an ideal fit for AI-driven solutions.”
Julien shares concrete examples of how AI is driving value across industries.
One example is Sappi, a South African leader in sustainable packaging, which leveraged AI and machine learning to optimise bidding strategies and reduce energy costs.
“By integrating AI-driven energy analytics, we’ve transformed our approach to making energy-related decisions,” says Pieter Jan Geens, Head of Data & Analytics at Sappi.
In healthcare, Orange Business partnered with Institut Curie to improve the explainability and efficiency of AI-powered medical reporting for doctors.
“This virtuous circle between research and medicine is particularly illustrated today through our collaboration with the Orange Business teams to continuously optimise our technology for the benefit of patients,” says Dr Sarah Watson, oncologist and researcher at Institut Curie.
The future: From conversational AI to autonomous agents
The following 12 to 18 months promise rapid evolution. Julien notes, “A major topic today is the shift from simple chatbot interactions—where you ask a question and get an answer - to more advanced AI agents that can take on tasks and operate as autonomously as possible.
Driving the evolution are two key factors: first, the development of algorithms capable of reasoning and second, the ability of these agents to take action.”
As Julien concludes: “We’ve moved from being outside the loop to being in the loop and now on the loop. But for us, it’s essential that no matter what you do with AI, humans must remain in the loop.”
In a rapidly changing landscape, the blend of technological excellence, human-centric design and ethical leadership is likely to define the future of telecommunications for years to come.
