Direct One, Omnilogic and Frontal Communication announced a strategic partnership whereby the three companies will collaborate in order to maximize their current technological potential.

Given the diversification of opportunities and the increase in complexity of the solutions to be offered to customers, Direct One held that the technological development partnerships with current Romanian integrators (though useful in relatively early stages of the project), no longer cope with its needs and decided the signing of an overall new tripartite agreement for multiple technology areas with Frontal Communication, the leading Cisco partner in Romania (according to the common turnover), and Omnilogic - the main local provider of infrastructure and cloud computing services.

The partnership will exploit opportunities created by the proliferation of broadband services, especially due to increasing Internet video traffic type and movement of interest from technology providers to content providers.

In this context, the parties have decided to continue development of IP NGN network as part of the CDN - Content Delivery Network to Direct One with the solutions proposed by Frontal Communication. This will develop new capabilities for storage and distribution of content that will receive a new dimension through integrating cloud-computing services provided by Frontal Communication and located in Omnilogic Data Center in Otopeni.

The second direction of collaboration will join communication network resources of Direct One and the system integration resources of Frontal Communication, in order to define a comprehensive package of integrated services that both companies will be able to market in Romania.

“Frontal Communication experience as a system integrator (undisputed on the market in Romania), aligned with the technological infrastructure support provided by Omnilogic and supported by data transport network with national coverage such as Direct One, will create an unique offer in Romania at this time.

This partnership is aligned with Direct One strategy to launch innovative value-added services, especially video services, and can address new market segments "- said Marian Pantazescu, CEO of Direct One S.A.

"Direct One decision to end the current partnership with Cisco existing integrator on IP NGN and CDN - Content Delivery Network, is logical and natural at this stage of evolution of the market. There are a range of small firms with limited expertise on various technology verticals, but obviously they cannot cover the complexity of products and services that the partnership between Frontal Communication, Omnilogic and Direct One can offer to customers in the near future in Romania and the region", said Mr. Gabriel Marin, Managing Director Omnilogic.

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Direct One SA is a Romanian independent company, privately owned, that has developed a data transmission network a high capacity and with national availability and first CDN network (Content Delivery Network) in Romania. At this point, Direct One offers content distribution services, especially video and data transmission in the wholesale system in more than 50 points throughout Romania.

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Established in 1994, Frontal Communication is a leading IT&C solution and system integrator, having expertise and know-how in consulting, audit, design, implementation, support, maintenance and optimization for complex integration projects and solutions. In November 2008, Frontal Communication achieved in less than a year and notably, with local support, Cisco Gold Partner Certification being in the same time the Romanian largest Cisco Systems partner in terms of revenue.

After achieving multiple certifications, Frontal Communications has signed a strategic partnership with Omnilogic for the implementation of system integration projects in Romania, including the design and implementation of new data centers, thus providing the customers a wide range of specialized IT services.

Frontal Communication provides authorized Cisco training, as Cisco Learning Partner Associate, through their trainers certified by Cisco Systems.

For more information about Frontal Communication and its portfolio of services and solutions, please visit www.frontalcommunication.ro.

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Founded in November 1992 as a private company, Omnilogic is one of the most important IT&C companies in Romania. Specialized in providing IT, networking and telecommunication products and services, Omnilogic is the main provider of the IT and telecom industry in Romania, due to its string partnerships with top vendors such as Cisco Systems, AASTRA Telecom (former Ericsson Enterprise), IBM, Oracle, EMC, VMware, Xerox, Apple, SMC, APC, Hewlett-Packard, Corning, CheckPoint, Dell, Lexmark, Harris, Nice and many others.
Trying to keep pace with the upcoming trends in the industry, Omnilogic anticipated the migration of the current model of distributed computing based on the personal computer, to the Data Center and real-time content distribution model.

Therefore, along with the build-up of its own campus (covering over 3 hectares and 15,000 m2 of building space), the company set-up the only 3 tier data center in Romania within its new Otopeni headquarters. With a final investment of more than Eur 8 millions, Omnilogic Data Center was designed and built as a secure, flexible, professional and dedicated IT environment, available only for Omnilogic's strategic customers. Omnilogic Data Center is NOT a passive Hosting Solution, and this is the major difference from similar solutions existent in the Romanian market today.
After only a couple of months form its opening (October 2008), a part of the main companies in the financial and telecommunication sector in Romania have decided to consider Omnilogic's offer for managed hosted services.

In February 2010 Omnilogic released, as a premiere within the Romanian market, its first “on-demand” program named “OmniVServ”, within its regional initiative of promoting cloud computing in the South-Eastern Europe.
Branded as OmniVCloud, Omnilogic cloud computing solution enables significant cost savings and business agility. Omnilogic can offer capacity without the need for capital expenditure, as well as operational expertise that replace or augment internal staff capabilities. By introducing leading technologies on the market, Omnilogic sits in the forefront of the IT&C technological development in Romania. For further information, please visit www.omnilogic.ro.

The Romanian team composed of Teodor Chirica (C.N.I. „Tudor Vianu” – Bucharest), Robert Dolca (C.N. „Aurel Vlaicu” - Orastie) and Catalin Vasile (C.N.”I.L. Caragiale” - Bucharest), coordinated by prof. Daniel Popa (C.N. „Aurel Vlaicu” - Orastie) won the 3rd prize in the category HSE (highschool 2) in the competition Networking Academy Games. The 5th edition of this international competition was held at Debrecen in 24 to 25 June 2010 and brought together competitors from six countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary).

In the UNI (university) category Romania was represented by 2 students from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Alexandru Juncu and Bogdan Doinea, Bogdan winning the 2rd place. In both categories, the competition was to solve a theoretical test and a practical test in which competitors had to configure network devices.

The students members of team that represented Romania were selected through the national competition phase of AcadNet (www.acadnet.ro) organised by the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest and the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports.

The participation of the Romanian team in the Networking Academy Games in Debrecen was made possible with the financial support of Frontal Communication. See more details about the 2010 edition of the Networking Academy Games on http://www.netskills.hu/regisztracio/en/nag2010 or on www.acadnet.ro.

According to Cisco ranking of its training partners in Central and Eastern Europe, Frontal Communication is no.1 in Romania and no. 3 in Central and Eastern Europe.

"This classification honors us being a consequence of our business approach focused on customer's needs" said Bogdan Constantinescu, Managing Director Frontal Communication. "We continue to invest in our trainers and in training programs which we provide, believing that through the quality of our trainings we deliver to customers benefits like increasing competitive advantages, productivity and profitability of IT investments.”

The objective of this ranking is to recognize exemplary channel partners whose business best practices Cisco would like other training partners to model. In evaluating partners were taking into account both the amount of sales and the number of courses, in the first 5 month of this year, Frontal Communication providing training courses for more than 300 students.

Frontal Communication, Cisco Learning Associate, has access to Cisco intellectual property and its authorized trainers are qualified to create, customize and deliver Cisco technical, product and sales training.

Frontal Communication, one of the leading IT&C system and solution integrator, has received the designation as Cisco ATP - Data Center Unified Computing partner. As Cisco ATP – Data Center Unified Computing partner, Frontal Communication is the single Romanian Cisco partner that can provide, implement and optimize Data Center Unified Computing solution in South-Eastern Europe. Participation in Cisco ATP - Data Center Unified Computing program is by Cisco nomination only. Only the partners that fulfill all the Cisco ATP program criteria in a certain period of time (6 months) receive this designation that enable them to provide Data Center Unified Computing products and solutions.

The Cisco Unified Computing System is a single energy-efficient system that can reduce the costs and complexity of information technology (IT) infrastructure, help extend capital assets, and improve business agility well into the future.

The Cisco Unified Computing System uses integrated management and combines a “wire once” unified fabric with an industry-standard computing platform to optimize virtualization, reduce the data center’s total overall cost, and provide dynamic resource provisioning for businesses that are becoming increasingly collaborative, mobile and distributed.

To qualify as a Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Authorized Technology Provider, during the past 6 months Frontal Communication had to rigorously meet a number of requirements. These included achieving the Cisco Data Center Networking Infrastructure Specialization and the Cisco Data Center Storage Networking Specialization as well as demonstrating mature competencies in server, storage and virtualization technologies.
Cisco’s Authorized Technology Provider Program is part of a comprehensive go-to-market strategy for emerging and advanced technologies. The program helps Cisco to define the knowledge, skills and services that channel partners need to sell, deploy and support these technologies.

Bucharest, 25th of January 2010 - Cisco granted FRONTAL COMMUNICATION the Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence.

Customer Satisfaction Excellence is the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Program. FRONTAL COMMUNICATION S.R.L. (SOUTH EAST EUROPE) will be recognized for Customer Satisfaction Excellence in the Cisco Partner Locator (www.cisco.com/go/partnerlocator) with a special star indicator representing this achievement. Customers, Cisco personnel and partners will be able to identify Frontal Communication as having achieved outstanding customer satisfaction as part of Cisco's worldwide assessment process.

Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence assessment is based upon the customer satisfaction results captured in the Cisco Partner Access Online tool (www.cisco.com/go/pal). Each quarter, Cisco will acknowledge Certified Partners that have the highest customer satisfaction distinction within each geographic region.

Customer Satisfaction Excellence is a core value both Cisco and Frontal Communication share and a key driver of their current and future success.

FRONTAL COMMUNICATION delivers authorized Cisco training, as a Sponsored Organisation of Fast Lane Hungary Kft., a Cisco Learning Solutions Partner.

CCDA, CCDP, CCIE, CCIP, CCNA, CCNP, Cisco, the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert logo, Cisco IOS, Cisco Press, Cisco Systems, the Cisco Systems logo, Cisco Unity, and Empowering the Internet Generation are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document or Website are the property of their respective owners.

Frontal Communication achieved the highest certification granted by Cisco Systems, thus becoming Cisco Gold Partner. Frontal Communication team was congratulated by Bogdan Constantinescu, Country Manager Cisco Systems Romania, who was also attended the event held on December 4th, at Radisson SAS Hotel. Achieving this certification means following strict standards enforced by Cisco Systems regarding the networking, services and support capabilities, needed to achieve a high degree of customer satisfaction. This acknowledges the high degree of technological expertise Frontal Communication team has now for successful implementation and development of complex projects, benefiting from the Cisco Systems credential, trust and support.

During this event, Frontal Communication announced that it has entered a strategic partnership with Omnilogic, one of the IT&C leaders in Romania.

"I am impressed by the technical performance achieved by the 30 members of Frontal Communication team, who achieved Cisco Gold Partner Certification so quickly, in less than a year, when typically this certification process lasts 2-3 years. I have my full confidence that Frontal Communication will become in 2009 an undisputed leader of the IT&C system integration market in Romania," said Gabriel Marin, CEO Omnilogic.

Through the partnership with Omnilogic, Frontal Communication offers to the customers an integrated service package, that could include: financing, design, implementation, storage through Omnilogic data center access, proactive monitoring, maintenance. Therefore, based on a monthly flat fee, agreed by a long-term agreement, the customers benefit from equipment and applications, backup, installation and support, thus transforming CAPEX into OPEX.

"Frontal Communication company is active on the Romanian market since 1994. I am the President of this company and I represent its main shareholder, General Communication company from Austria, that owns 90% from Frontal Communication shares. I want to congratulate the team coordinated by Mr. Sebastian Banica - CEO and Sorin Parlog - CTO, who have made efforts and achieved this important certification from Cisco. We have entered a strategic partnership with Omnilogic and now I want to also thank Mr. Gabriel Marin - CEO Omnilogic for the trust he puts in us. In this partnership we have agreed to access the resources of Omnilogic: the customer database and the datacenter built in Otopeni," said Erik Graf, President at Frontal Communication.

"We make the main difference on the Romanian market with managed services," said Sebastian Banica, CEO at Frontal Communication. "Frontal Communication makes a difference on the market by providing more than implementation. We work close to the customers from the design phase to the implementation and the optimization ones. Also, our company provides the customers a help desk 24/7 service, while transforming the products into services. We provide the best solution on the market, being kneadable and flexible. Until the end of the year, the company will also achieve the accreditation of Cisco authorized training center," Mr. Banica added.

Cristian Popescu, Enterprise Regional Sales Manager Cisco Systems, showed to the audience a new collaborative principle, that has to be the fundamentals of business relationships. This involves the people from the organization, the processes within and the technology. Thus, Cisco creates the prerequisites for a collaborative working model within the organizations, so that these to easily identify the opportunities in a continuously changing market. The collaboration allows them to quicker adapt to these market changes and to increase the competitive advantage by reaction speed and innovation. Having the infrastructure and the applications optimized, the organizations can take decisions faster, increase the throughout, improve the relationships with their employees, customers and partners. Thereby, the technology is the one contributing to the overall business development.

During this event, Sorin Parlog, Chief Technology Officer Frontal Communication, showed three case studies that highlight the competitive advantages of Frontal Communication and the benefits for the customers.

The event held at Hotel Radisson was attended by representatives of telecommunication industry, financial-banking and public sector, and also by journalists.

Frontal Communication Achieves Gold Certification from Cisco Romania

Otopeni, Romania - 2008, December 4th FRONTAL COMMUNICATION - announced today it has achieved Gold Certification from Cisco. To earn Gold Certification, FRONTAL COMMUNICATION had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco.

"In the new business environment of global economic, technological and social changes, with heightened risks and uncertainties, the companies need to differentiate and radically change the way of doing business. In respect to that, Frontal Communication is a customer-oriented company, based on partnership with CISCO Systems.", said Sebastian Banica, executive director of Frontal Communication.

"We are committed to providing the tools, training and programs that help drive partner growth, differentiation and profitability," said Traian Musteata, Chanel Account Manager at Cisco. With specializations in Unified Communications, Routing and Switching, Security, and Wireless LAN, FRONTAL COMMUNICATION has made an investment in developing the capability to deliver the integrated and customized technology solutions today customers demand.

The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides partners with the training required to build sales, technical and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills, and then validates their skills through a third-party audit. Cisco resale partner certifications-Gold, Silver, Premier and Select-represent an increasing breadth of skills across key technologies and a partner ability to deliver integrated networking solutions. Cisco resale partner specializations-Master, Advanced and Express-reflect an increasing depth of sales, technical and service expertise in particular technologies.

As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner FRONTAL COMMUNICATIONhas met the requirements for attaining the broadest range of expertise across multiple technologies by achieving the four following Cisco advanced specializations: Unified Communications, Routing and Switching, Security, and Wireless LAN. In addition, FRONTAL COMMUNICATION has integrated Cisco Lifecycle Services into their offerings and is required to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco Gold Certification provides FRONTAL COMMUNICATION access to comprehensive sales, technical, and lifecycle services training and support available from Cisco.

About FRONTAL COMMUNICATION
Established in 1994, Frontal Communication is a leading IT&C solution and system integrator, having expertise and know-how in consulting, audit, design, implementation, support, maintenance and optimization for complex integration projects and solutions.
Our company provides elaborated and quality services, thanks to our IT&C expert team, who have acquired an extensive management experience and high technical skills. Moreover, Frontal Communication provides maintenance and support services for all components of the delivered systems, having national coverage and a wide range of SLAs, including 24x7x365.
Also, our company provides professional services and technology expertise for all phases of a Network Lifecycle. The business verticals whom Frontal Communication addresses to are Enterprise, Banking&Insurance, Public Sector, Defence, Education and Telecom.
Frontal Communication provides authorized Cisco training, as a sponsored organization of Fast Lane , Cisco Learning Solutions Partner.

Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems Inc. in the United States and certain other countries.

Congratulations to FRONTAL COMMUNICATION for meeting all criteria to achieve Advanced Unified Communication.

FRONTAL COMMUNICATION has met the resource requirements for an Advanced Unified Communications The company has demonstrated that it is qualified to support customers with Advanced Unified Communications in South East Europe.

Cisco granted FRONTAL COMMUNICATION SRL (South East Europe) the Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence.

Customer Satisfaction Excellence is the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Program.

Customer satisfaction is a key element of Cisco Channel Partner Program. Cisco uses the same survey tool to measure customer satisfaction for both Cisco customers and he level achieved by its Gold, Silver or Premier partners.

Partners that achieve outstanding customer satisfaction are distinguished from others by the Customer Satisfaction Excellence gold stars. These partners can be reached on the Partner Locator Center from the website of Cisco Systems, at www.cisco.com, these section being periodically updated.

Since june 2008 Frontal Communication is Cisco Certified Silver Partner. The cooperation took place on several plans: technical, commercial and marketing, being developed continuously. In June 2008, the partnership has taken a different form, FRONTAL COMMUNICATION changing its status of Cisco Premier Partner in Cisco Silver Certified Partner.

For FRONTAL COMMUNICATION, Cisco Systems Certification represents the recognition of its skills on the IT market in South Eastern Europe by the worldwide leader in Networking equipment for Internet. Frontal Communication is able to provide Cisco products and technologies at the highest level of quality and access to expertise and training programs. At the same time, this certification demonstrates the commitment that FRONTAL COMMUNCIATION has in the partnerships relation with CISCO and the professionalism it has proved in all these years.

This level of partnership was reached due to the specialisation of Advanced Routing & Switching, Advanced Wireless, Advanced Security, Express Unified Communication and Express Foundation through which FRONTAL COMMUNICATION is certified by Cisco Systems to offer value-added services on those technology.

By obtaining this certification, FRONTAL COMMUNCIATION has proved once again that it is able to provide integrated solutions for ensuring the design, implementation and competent features of these products.

Congratulations to FRONTAL COMMUNICATION S.R.L. for meeting all criteria to achieve an Advanced Routing & Switching.

FRONTAL COMMUNICATION S.R.L. has met the resource requirements for an Advanced Routing & Switching. Your company has demonstrated that it is qualified to support customers with Advanced Routing & Switching in South East Europe.

Congratulations to FRONTAL COMMUNICATION S.R.L. for meeting all criteria to achieve an Express Unified Communications.

FRONTAL COMMUNICATIONS has met the resource requirements for an Express Unified Communications and demonstrated that they are qualified to support customers with their Express Unified Communications in South East Europe.

Congratulations to FRONTAL COMMUNICATION S.R.L. for meeting all criteria to achieve an Advanced Security.

FRONTAL COMMUNICATIONS has met the resource requirements for an Advanced Security and demonstrated that they are qualified to support customers with their Advanced Security in South East Europe.