BT Connect: A New Dimension of Intelligent Networks for Business

LONDON, March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BT today announced a major update to BT Connect, its innovative portfolio of networking solutions. The move establishes 'intelligence' as a new dimension for the definition of network performance alongside speed, availability, scope, security and resilience.

BT Connect customers will benefit from important innovations which will improve network performance and increase Chief Information Officers' control over their own infrastructure, including:

• A new, enhanced 'MyAccount' portal for customers to manage multiple network services from any device, including smartphones and tablets.
• A new unified dashboard for the Connect applications portfolio, presenting all of the reporting features of application and web performance monitoring in one single view. This will enable better decision making for different stakeholders who are either involved in service delivery or affected by it.
• A new suite of BT Connect applications, including a web performance monitoring service allowing customers to have a full view of the efficiency of end-user web experience and improve their online business operations, and a Connect Acceleration Monitoring service for customers to track what's running on their network, resolve IT performance problems faster and lower IT management costs.

In parallel with this major update, BT has developed a new tool called BT Connect IQ evaluator that will allow Chief Information Officers to assess and improve their network's intelligence. The tool will allow CIOs to benchmark their network performance and find ways to fine-tune their networking solution to best align it with their business strategy. The output includes a multi-dimensional rating of maturity and a network IQ roadmap based on gaps between customers "current" and desired "future" state. They will be able to plan for the unexpected and operate in a more effective way, helping their business compete in global markets.

BT Connect fully leverages BT's global network, including Ethernet services in 28 countries, and recent investments expanding the network's reach across the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific. This network has the ability to deliver services in 197 countries and territories and provides speeds of anything from 64Kbps-320Gbps in the UK and 64Kbps-1Gbps globally with future plans for even faster access.

BT Connect customers benefit from BT Advise consulting, integration and managed services, delivered by 4,500 specialists around the globe. BT is also launching BT Connect IQ Quickstart for those customers who want to better understand how to extract more value from networking.

By coupling these capabilities with BT Connect IQ and BT's intelligent network solutions, CIOs will have more control over their network and better operational alignment.

Jeff Kelly, CEO of BT Global Services said: "Our customers see network services as a vital asset at the very heart of their global business strategies. They rely on the network to compete effectively, address economic challenges and take advantage of opportunities to grow. By investing to reinforce our capabilities in the traditional criteria of speed, availability, reach and cost, and by introducing a new dimension of network intelligence, we aim to give our customers a real competitive edge and greater value."

David Molony, Principal Analyst, Ovum Enterprise Telecoms, said: "An intelligent network has the potential to transform the role of CIOs and their teams because they can be freed from project-by-project resource building, allocation and oversight to spend more time with their C-level peers, focusing on the strategic challenges that will help drive their business forward.

"The intelligent network is becoming more relevant than ever. There are a multitude of personal devices, including smartphones, tablets, and e-readers. There are new sources of content from public resources, new applications data, and a regeneration of voice-as-data, video, and other multimedia. These factors are combining to give existing networks the workout of their lives. An intelligent network has the capability to address mixed end-user and customer requirements and manage traffic across a heterogeneous set of access points and underlying transport bearers."

To read more about how BT defines network intelligence, learn about BT Connect, and download the Ovum whitepaper "The Intelligent Network and the Future of the CIO," please visit www.bt.com/btconnect/iq.

All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News.

About BT

BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries.  Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services.  BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

In the year ended 31 March 2011, BT Group's revenue was 20,076m pounds Sterling with profit before taxation of 1,717m pounds.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group.  BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. 

For more information, visit www.btplc.com.

SOURCE BT