BT is hooking up with Zoom Video Communications on a carrier agreement that allows it to offer Zoom Meetings as a managed service for its customers.
BT is throwing its network support at the Zoom video conferencing sessions, which includes end-to-end experience monitoring and enhanced security. With the agreement, BT said it's the first global provider to offer a fully managed Zoom Meetings service featuring a choice of connectivity and integration with its global voice network.
“We’re keeping it simple for customers, helping them create secure and productive digital workplaces for their people, wherever they are," said BT's Andrew Small, director, global portfolio, in a statement."Our new managed service allows global enterprises, typically with complex network and IT infrastructure, to consume Zoom Meetings in a simple, consistent and secure way with optimized experiences for their people around the world.”
The connectivity options include internet, global SIP, PSTN and MPLS. BT also offers security options such as encrypting communications, protecting customers’ user IDs, secure, private and resilient MPLS connectivity, dedicated network gateways and user adoption programs, which educate users on secure best practices.
The agreement also enables BT to offer Zoom Rooms, which is Zoom’s extendable software-based conference room system.
“We chose BT as a global managed service partner because it’s a trusted and established leader in the world market with in-depth enterprise voice, video, security, cloud and networking expertise," said Zoom's Ryan Azus, chief revenue officer, in a statement. "Our new agreement will help large enterprises fully experience the benefits Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone and Zoom Rooms offer. This partnership will also expand Zoom’s global footprint and enterprise sales capabilities.”
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Zoom competes against Cisco's Webex, Google's Meet platform and Microsoft Teams for both paid and free video conferencing services for consumers and enterprises.
Zoom saw a massive surge for its video conferencing platform during the coronavirus pandemic. With millions of employees working from home, along with students that were also home bound, Zoom saw massive growth. In April, Zoom said it had more than 300 million daily meeting participants after having 10 million in December.
Zoom initially struggled with not having encryption and other security measures in place during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to "Zoombombing" by disruptive, uninvited guests on video conferences. Over the summer, Zoom completed a 90-day security plan with the release of over 100 features.