The solution aims at helping those enterprises reduce costs, remove complexity and risk, improve collaboration and enhance business processes. This is achieved by leveraging existing investments in currently separate voice and data infrastructures and offering a compelling transition path to a centrally managed IP-based communications platform.
The BT and Siemens converged communications solution enables enterprises to consolidate and converge their voice and data communications at their own pace, one site at a time if so required. They are able to migrate from an existing multi-technology environment to a centrally managed converged communications platform upon deployment. The solution offers a single service level agreement as well as a flexible pricing model with a single point of contact for end-to-end managed services.
This solution combines Siemens OpenScape suite of communications software applications and OpenScale services with BT’s MPLS network.
The BT-Siemens relationship grew out of their shared experiences while handling several mutual engagements with major customers. This proven approach – deployed to thousands of users in industries ranging from finance to manufacturing – can help large enterprise CIOs solve one of the toughest IT challenges they face today.
“The dilemma for CIOs is that the demands of maintaining their existing IT infrastructures command so much of their budgets that little is left for true innovation,” said Wu Zhou, Senior Analyst, IDC. “So while many, if not most CIOs now recognise the clear advantages of IP-based converged communications, they cannot see how to get there without a lot of cost and complexity that can adversely impact the business.”
The complementary portfolios of BT and Siemens Enterprise Communications are ideally suited to deliver a complete range of solutions and services including voice, data, telephony, mobility and collaboration applications.
“Through mergers and acquisitions, many of our customers have accumulated complex, usually multi-vendor voice and data infrastructures,” said Chris Ainslie, vice president, systems integrators and channel partners, BT. “Our agreement with Siemens offers them a way to leverage their significant legacy investments while opening doors for greater collaboration, and better execution.”
“This relationship provides a vehicle for large national and multi-national corporations as well as for large public organisations to implement sophisticated converged solutions globally,” said Gerhard Otterbach, Chief Market Operations Officer (CMO) and Member of the Board at Siemens Enterprise Communications “It removes the complexity of separate vendor relationships in each country to manage the billing, customer service and technology integration challenges associated with a large-scale deployment while, at the same time, maintaining the value of their existing investment.”