BT and Cisco hook up in the cloud

BT and Cisco have strengthened their collaborative relationship with the launch of a cloud based IP telephony solution.
 
The solution will be sold through BT’s Onevoice UCC portfolio.
 
The head of Cisco Europe, Chris Dedicoat, said “Cisco and BT are deepening our established collaboration today to introduce a truly transformational unified communications solution delivered through the cloud at a compelling price point. We believe this new hosted offering will help accelerate our combined ability to bring the benefits of unified communications to more customers globally.”
 
The hosted IP telephony service is based on Cisco Hosted UC services as the platform for collaborative voice communications and brings converged voice, mobile and data services to desktops.
 
The service has been initially launched in the UK via BT and will be launched to the business market in the US and EMEA in 2010 followed by Asia Pacific.
 
“The current macroeconomic climate favors hosted IP telephony. The service is based on an operating expenditure model and offers the flexibility, low risk, and cost control now required by companies facing an uncertain future,” said IDC, European Telecommunications and Networking Research Director Chris Barnard.
 
The UK’s National Health Service’s national broadband network, N3, has already implemented the service.