BT works with Microsoft to offer large organisations cloud and unified communications services

BT today announced an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to market and deliver Microsoft Online Services to business customers, giving them access to integrated cloud computing and collaboration services.

BT will be the first telecommunications and network IT services provider to resell the Dedicated Business Productivity Online Suite to enterprise organisations.

BT customers will have access to Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite, including Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Office Communications Online and Microsoft Office Live Meeting. By integrating Microsoft’s product suite into its 21CN global, software-driven customer network, BT will provide customers with a fully-hosted managed service, ensuring higher quality of service levels and guaranteed network performance.

Neil Sutton, Vice President, Global Portfolio, BT Global Services, said: “This agreement enables BT and Microsoft to provide large organisations with fully integrated cloud-based business collaboration tools, while reducing their overall networked IT and infrastructure costs. The services will also allow customers to build on existing legacy systems, while integrating voice and data applications.”

By embedding the Business Productivity Online Suite into BT’s multi-protocol layer switching networks, customers will have access to a fully hosted service, including power, performance management, maintenance and software upgrades.

BT will deliver a full integration with its Global Onevoice service later in the year, leveraging the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) capabilities within its leading voice Virtual Private Network platform.

By closely integrating BT Managed Microsoft Office Communications Server offerings with the Business Online Productivity Suite, BT and Microsoft will be able to work with large organisations to tailor their end-to-end voice and IT services requirements, including: single-number reach, SIP trunking, attendant console, and premise-based audio conferencing.
The announcement builds on a long partnership between BT and Microsoft in selling and delivering business services and solutions to consumer, small-to-medium sized and enterprise customers. BT is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

“Today’s agreement marks a significant step forward in our relationship with BT,” said Ron Markezich, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Online. “Through our work with BT, Microsoft will be better enabled to deliver productivity solutions for a growing number of businesses worldwide that are looking for new ways to control costs and do more with less.”