OREANDA-NEWS. September 27, 2012. BT today announced it has been awarded Frost & Sullivan’s “2012 European Unified Communications Service Provider of the Year”. This award comes as it announces a major update to BT One, its unified communications portfolio, including new cloud-based services designed to improve management effectiveness and collaboration within and between large organisations.

 The Unified Communications Service Provider of the Year Award is conferred on the unified communications (UC) service provider that has shown exemplary performance in Europe in 2011. The contenders for this award were evaluated based on key criteria including portfolio diversity, regional vision and strategy and key achievements over the year. Based on the views of Frost & Sullivan’s expert analysts and the final decision made by an independent judging panel, BT was selected as the worthy winner of this prestigious award.

 According to Adrian Drozd, Research Director at Frost & Sullivan: “BT Global Services has an end-to-end UC portfolio, including global network infrastructure, professional and managed services and comprehensive conferencing services. It has one of the industry-leading videoconferencing and telepresence offers. BT has pioneered the development of web-hosted video meeting services, launching video telepresence exchanges, and exchange-to-exchange video communication services. The provider’s UC portfolio – now termed ‘BT One’ – has clear linkages to other areas across

 BT’s service areas, setting it apart from many of its competitors. In addition, the company delivers customised solutions for a number of vertical markets, notably Financial Services, Retail and Pharma – such focused services place BT at a strong advantage among companies that are seeking a partner that has proven knowledge and expertise in their specific industry.”

 Neil Sutton, vice president, global portfolio at BT Global Services, said: “We are very proud of this award. It comes as we invest further in our unified communications portfolio. We are working with our partners in Microsoft, Cisco and Avaya to roll out new industry-leading features for BT One, including cloud-based solutions with innovative pricing models. We are bringing high definition video to the desktop, and we are trialling new high definition audio-conferencing technologies with our partners from Dolby Laboratories. All of this comes in response to the requirements put forward by our customers, and will help reinforce our leadership position in the field of unified communications, in Europe and globally.”