BT tempts multinationals with Onevoice updates

BT Global Services is offering multinational customers a sweetened deal with the promise of 25 per cent lower call costs and support for advanced messaging functionality.

The firm made two announcements, one concerning its Onevoice converged communications system, and the other about its winning qualification for Microsoft Office Communications Server, which it expects will boost the use of presence and chat features among its business users.

With its Onevoice system BT is offering SIP trunking, which is a means of connecting traditional PSTN enterprise phone systems to the internet, in a number of countries, which it said would give firms a clear path to their unified communications plans.

The firm explained that Onevoice would connect domestic voice services to its VPN and still enable local numbering on incoming and outgoing traffic.

This, it added, could reduce call, line rental and infrastructure costs while still creating a unified look to the business comms system.

The service is being rolled out across Europe, including the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France and the US, with others to follow.

BT also said that it had "deepened" its collaboration arrangement with Microsoft, and from now would be able to give its customers better connections with Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

This, it explained, meant that it could offer its voice services from within the server, and as a result, combine its voice system with the included communications and collaboration features.

"SIP trunking gives customers the capability to introduce collaboration applications which increase productivity and save costs," said Neil Sutton, global portfolio vice president at BT Global Services.

BT reckons that by switching to its Onevoice system firms will be able to save as much as 25 per cent of their communications costs, when compared to other VPN services.