British Telecommunications expands across the region

Global companies operating in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey will benefit from access to a richer portfolio of innovative services and leveraging, following British Telecommunications (BT) massive investment in these locations. BT, one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions recently announced that it has embarked on a series of initiatives aimed at doubling its business across these countries, especially in human resources, infrastructural network and services to help customers expand further. The global companies that are already operational in these areas will be supported by additional highly qualified staff, including professional services specialists, says Jeff Kelly, CEO BT Global Services. BT already serves around 600 large organisations in the regions, including many of the world’s leading global companies. According to BT’s research, the addressable market in Turkey, the Middle East and Africa was worth a combined £5.4 billion in 2011.  IT spending growth across the regions is expected to top 10 per cent in 2012. “The Middle East already hosts some of the world’s main business hubs, and is a crucial region for many of our customers. New opportunities are rapidly emerging in the region, and we are now expanding from our thriving base in the United Arab Emirates,” said Kelly. He disclosed that Turkey is a key business bridge between Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is growing rapidly. Sub-Saharan Africa, Kelly adds remains largely a new frontier for ambitious businesses and is currently showing strong growth rates in a number of countries. “We are extending our network capabilities in that region beyond our strong South African operation, with the ambition of serving our customers wherever they seek new opportunities,” said the CEO. Kelly said BT is also witnessing the emergence of a new generation of local companies in these regions, eager to expand globally. Our new initiatives show that when we talk about global ambitions, we truly mean global, added the chief executive. As part of the new programme, BT will hire around 170 new employees across the three regions, including highly skilled professional services specialists to provide local support to customers and deliver consulting, integration and managed services. Customers in the regions will be able to access a wider range of intelligent network services provided by the BT Connect portfolio. Local companies with global aspirations will fully benefit from BT Connect’s ability to provide services in 197 countries and territories. Leveraging this infrastructure, new propositions will be launched in the regions, providing innovative networked IT services. Network reach and access options are being improved in Sub-Saharan Africa. These include the recently announced international routing facility in South Africa and a new network connection between Cape Town and Johannesburg. These will make BT the first global operator with its own network infrastructure in the country. Specific interconnection agreements with local partners extend BT’s network reach into Sub-Saharan Africa. Three new network nodes are being launched in the Middle East, while additional network interconnections will be rolled out in Turkey. The recent announcement is part of a wider investment programme supporting BT’s global strategy. Previous announcements include similar programmes in Asia Pacific and in Latin America, improvements to BT’s global portfolio and network capabilities, investments in highly skilled professional services resources, and the development of strategic global sector teams to better serve multinational customers. From :gulf