BT Wholesale gives channel more Teams options

BT Wholsale has armed its channel with more tools that work with Microsoft Teams as the comms player looks to keep itself in a position to offer hybrid work options.

The firm is launching WHC Teams Direct Connect, which means users can access external calls on Teams using Wholesale Hosted Communications (WHC).

The company is looking to the channel to take the solution out to market, with it being quick and easy to deploy without the need for onerous IT support.

BT Wholesale is encouraging its channel to take advantage of the flexibility that enables them to offer combinations of hosted PBX, Hosted SIP Trunking and Teams, as well as pointing out that simple solutions save time and money in training and roll-out.

Gavin Jones, channel director at BT Wholesale, said it made sense to add more depth for its channel with an offering that should have a wide market appeal.

The growth of hybrid working, accelerated by the experiences of the coronavirus pandemic, has seen an explosion in demand and usage of collaboration tools such as Teams and Zoom. A recent report from Cavell Group looking at UK cloud communications found that Teams has the biggest market share, with about 6.75 million users in the UK, with that figure set to rise to 10 million next year.

“Bringing Microsoft Teams into our WHC portfolio was a natural next step for our partners and their customers,” said Jones. “At BT Wholesale, we want to ensure our propositions are adding the best value. Microsoft Teams is a great platform that many businesses rely on, but we wanted to take our support further by adding the extra functionality of allowing phone calls.

“This is a simple and cost-effective way to get calls in Teams, so we can deliver the greatest benefits to our partners and their customers.”

Elsewhere in the comms world, Virgin Media O2 has unveiled a fresh sustainability strategy and launched a £500,000 Eco Fund. The firm has also introduced the Do One Thing campaign, which will encourage  people to take positive action to protect the planet.

Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2, said the firm took sustainability seriously and felt it needed to do something that would get people thinking about the actions they took individually.

“It’s in all of our hands to tackle the climate crisis,” he said. “As part of our mission to upgrade the UK, Virgin Media O2 is stepping up for the planet, for people and for future generations with our Better Connections Plan. We will cut carbon faster, champion more sustainable and low-carbon tech, tackle e-waste, and provide data and devices to those in need, so everyone can live in a better, more connected and greener world.

“Through our Do One Thing campaign, we want to empower everyone to take actions that, when combined, create lasting impact for the planet, for each other, and generations to come.”