BT to offer Microsoft apps and unified comms 'in the cloud'

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 21 July 2009 12:11

IT Industry - Strategy

BT has integrated Microsoft's online Office applications suite into its global network and plans to offer large enterprises access to these applications integrated with unified communications as a fully-hosted managed service.

The suite includes Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Office Communications Online and Microsoft Office Live Meeting. BT says it will deliver a full integration with its Global Onevoice service later in the year, leveraging the session initiation protocol (SIP) capabilities within this virtual private network platform (launched in March ).

BT claims that, by closely integrating BT managed Microsoft Office Communications Server offerings with the Business Online Productivity Suite, it 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.

BT also claims it will be "the first telecommunications and network IT services provider to resell Microsoft's Dedicated Business Productivity Online Suite to enterprise organisations." If this claim is true it must be based on some subtle distinctions because Vodafone earlier this year announced a very similar alliance with Microsoft , to be offered in almost every country where Vodafone operates, which it described as "enterprise-class communications and collaboration software as subscription services [for] businesses of all sizes." These were to be hosted by Microsoft and available through Vodafone and to include: Microsoft Exchange Online; Microsoft SharePoint Online; Microsoft Office Communications Online and Microsoft Office Live Meeting.
 
Vodafone launched the service in the US in March and said it would be available in Germany and Spain later in 2009 and in additional markets after that, but it gave no details. Microsoft also announced in March that its hosted Business Productivity Online Suite was available direct from Microsoft to businesses of all sizes in 19 countries.

However last November Telstra announced a strategic alliance with Microsoft  to offer these services in Australia and the head of Telstra Business, Deena Shiff, told iTWire at the time that the deal was exclusive, which would appear to preclude both BT and Vodafone from offering these services in Australia (at the time of writing iTWire was awaiting confirmation from BT of its plans, if any, for Australia).