Recognised for its excellent service and innovation, BT won best global operator and was recognised as the world's most influential and inspirational wholesaler. The awards were announced last night during an evening ceremony at the Hilton Hotel on London's Park Lane attended by over 500 influencers and decision-makers, CEOs and senior executives from around the globe.
The Green Award acknowledged the full spectrum of BT's corporate responsibility and sustainability activities, such as workforce diversity, environmental issues, digital inclusion and helping communities in need. Meanwhile the award for Best Technology Foresight credited BT's Onevoice Ribbit service for reducing the cost of international mobile calls for organisations by extending their phone networks to the web.
Chairman of the judging panel, David Molony, Principal Analyst for IP Enterprise Practice at Ovum, said: "The standard of entries was extremely high and the judges had some tough choices to make this year. We were very impressed with BT Wholesale's managed network services approach, how BT's 21CN investment is enabling the move to next generation services and the way it has aligned itself around its customers. BT Wholesale's powerful portfolio is certainly taking the game further than other international carriers. More than one judge described the wholesale entry as excellent."
"Meanwhile BT Global Services stood out in the Best Global Operator category" said Molony, "Its customers were extremely positive in their appraisals and the company continues to win global contracts from businesses headquartered all around the world. It is making new investments in Asia-Pacific and it continues to innovate throughout the network with services like the virtual data centre and managed videoconferencing services - thoroughly deserved."
Commenting on the Best Wholesale Carrier award, Sally Davis, BT Wholesale CEO, said: "I am delighted that BT Wholesale has won this top industry award. It is a clear indication that we are achieving our goal of reshaping our business and transforming from a traditional commodity wholesaler into a partner that provides genuine value for customers. BT Wholesale has become what some analysts are calling a 'smart' wholesaler, one that provides a compelling portfolio of managed services and IP-based solutions alongside our traditional products and services. Finally, of course, our own people play a critical role and this award is for them."
Jeff Kelly, CEO of BT Global Services, said: "Being named the Best Global Operator is a fantastic achievement and I am particularly proud of the customer testimonials that have contributed to our winning entry. We are a reference business, so what our customers say about us is a really big deal and it's really gratifying to hear so many positive comments about our service improvements and innovation. It's great recognition for the hard work of our teams around the world over the last year."
Best Global Operator
As part of the Best Global Operator award brief, BT Global Services (BTGS) was asked to demonstrate what makes it stand out from the competition and how it responds to market changes. It did this by highlighting the global reach and powerful combination of networked IT and professional services which BT provides, whilst also pointing to independent analyst assessments, which rate BTGS as a leader in conferencing, network services, managed security services and data centre outsourcing, amongst others. BTGS also pointed to an innovative portfolio with recent additions - including a Virtual Data Centre solution and Hybrid VPN service - that have responded effectively to the changing needs of customers. Most importantly, BTGS was able to contribute positive customer testimonials in the areas of customer service and innovation.
BT Global Services serves large business and government customers around the world. Its customers include the world's largest banks and financial exchanges, global FMCG brands, energy, pharmaceutical, logistics, travel and manufacturing businesses. In 2010 it was also named Best Managed Services Provider (Telecom Asia), won the Green Excellence Award in corporate leadership (Frost & Sullivan) and three awards for innovation at the Global Telecoms Business Awards.
Best Wholesale Carrier
In the brief for the Best Wholesale Carrier award, BT was asked to provide examples of unusual business won to help illustrate how it was able to make its wholesale service stand out from the competition. Key to BT Wholesale's success is its innovative Managed Network Services business which has resulted in it becoming a long-term strategic partner for the vast majority of its largest customers. It includes, for example, the ten-year deal signed with KCOM for a full national outsourcing service for network management, vendor management and a range of supporting services and business models.
The WCA, widely recognised as the most trusted awards in the global industry, is open to all communications providers. BT faced strong competition in both categories, with Bharti Airtel, BICS, China Telecom (Europe), Colt, Tata Communications and Teliasonera International Carrier all shortlisted for the Best Wholesale Carrier award.
BT Wholesale's leaders, innovation and excellence are being increasingly recognised in the global industry. In 2010 BT has already been named as Best International Wholesale Carrier (Telecoms World Middle East); won a Broadband InfoVision Award (Broadband World Forum) and CEO Sally Davis is ranked among the most influential people in today's worldwide telecom industry in Global Telecoms Business' Power 100 list.