BT announce ITC services for province’s SMEs

BT Northern Ireland have announced a series of strategic alliances with some of the world's leading providers of information and communications technology (ICT) services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Belfast business leaders were treated to an exclusive preview of the new BT Business partnership which enables them to offer UK SMEs simple integrated IT and Communications solutions. Cisco, Microsoft, Dell, and BT Cellnet are all working with BT in the creation of the new concept, called Digital Business.

Nationally BT has committed £6.6 million to develop and market a range of single point of contact and straightforward solutions for its 1.2 million SMEs.

Combining the expertise of BT in communications and Cisco's networks knowledge, Digital Business solutions are completed with the addition of business software from Microsoft, personal computers and servers from Dell and mobile solutions provided by BT Cellnet.

Hanif Lalani, chief executive of BT Northern Ireland, said: "By connecting the four companies together through BT we have been able to design integrated packages to unleash the potential for SMEs to exploit technology for business gains in a simple and affordable way.

"That's important for the Northern Ireland market place because it's a market where providing a rounded solution to businesses necessitates major alliances. We are offering SMEs what they have asked for. People can focus on running their businesses while BT makes their technology work.

“And in doing so I believe we give companies a competitive advantage in a global economy where your competitors can be on the other side of the world or up the street."

Digital Business includes, for the first time, the launch of the Broadband Digital Office which will allow SMEs faster online access and use of applications. Research suggests that by 2005, Broadband will be making £3.5 billion productivity savings and £1.2 billion cost savings a year for the UK SME sector.

BT is currently connecting 1,000 SMEs a week to Broadband technology and, from next month SMEs across Northern Ireland will be able to access Broadband no matter where they are located.

The introduction of ADSL and the new Satellite Broadband means Northern Ireland will have 100 per cent coverage. (MB)