ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and CISCO, a multinational networking company, on Monday announced a strategic partnership in delivering high-tech IT services to businesses in Pakistan by signing a ‘Service Provider Partnership’ agreement.

PTCL’s Chief Business Services Officer Zarrar Hasham Khan and CISCO’s Country General Manager Kashif Ul Haque signed the agreement at a ceremony held here, said a news release.

Under this partnership, the two companies would work collectively and modernize the IT (Information Technology) infrastructure by offering cost-effective and innovative services. “This will, not only be limited to technology, but also include provision of strategic guidance and roadmap to successfully navigate the customer’s digital transformation journey.”

Zarrar Hasham said “This partnership with Cisco will allow PTCL to serve our customers across the geographic and demographic boundaries to exceed their expectations.”

He said the partnership would also be instrumental to support Pakistan in the digital transformation journey, facilitating the creation of a holistic digital workspace and lifestyle.

“We will be able to provide our corporate customers with a technological foundation that is secure and integrates connectivity, automation and analytics for better collaboration across the entire business value-chain, ” he said.

Kashif Ul Haque said, “Together Cisco and PTCL will be able to transform the way businesses are carried out in Pakistan. Our focus is on being the catalyst for change through SPaaCH (Service Provider as a Channel) that will be utilized in the most optimized and efficient manner. We truly appreciate this partnership that will enable us to transform our customers’ networks into a software-based and more agile platform.”

The news release said the PTCL remained at the forefront to take such initiatives that would pave the way for latest Cloud-based solutions and managed services, enabling the corporate customers across Pakistan.