BT, Microsoft Team for Cloud Services Delivery

BT announced Tuesday 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 organizations.

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.

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

By embedding the Business Online Productivity Suite into BT’s multiprotocol layer switching networks, customers will have access to a 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 SIP capabilities within its voice VPN 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 organizations 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.”

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