At the heart of our strategy is to be a better, more modern BT and we are on a charge to evolve from traditional telco to a technology company, while also enabling businesses and the public sector to make the same leap.

And that’s what is front and centre for us in Division X – to be the best digital transformation partner, helping our business and public sector customers take advantage of a digitally enabled future. That includes delivering quantifiable business outcomes for customers, and leading end-point solutions to improve productivity, optimise operations and drive cost savings, such as asset tracking, predictive maintenance, connected sensors, real-time data processing, automation, and robotics.

Managing these transformations is increasingly complex, and sometimes quite niche, and so the need to ‘collaborate to innovate’ has never been greater.

But choosing the right partners is critical. You must look for complementary skills and assets that add value. It’s not simply a question of working well together, you have to collectively drive better business outcomes than any one of you could achieve alone.

So, for us to be the best for our customers, we need to have the best-in-class partnerships to meet, deliver and exceed their expectations. 

And it’s something we are taking seriously at BT. We already have world class research and development functions and rich network experience and are actively engaged with many businesses today who are grappling with making the shift to a digital future. An example of this is reflected in our work with Belfast Harbour and the Port of Tyne, where we are deploying private 5G networks to help them revolutionise their processes, track assets, and understand how sustainable and productive their operations can be. Also, our partnership with Hyperbat in developing the world’s first 5G Virtual Reality Digital Twin solution is helping to accelerate the manufacturing process for electric vehicle batteries; and our innovative 5G trial with the BBC at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer also demonstrated the potential for a portable 5G network to transform broadcasting for live events.

None of the above would have been possible without the support of multiple partners, and so we made the decision earlier this year, as part of our BT Means Business Enterprise Customer Charter to create a more structured partnership engagement that would allow us to accelerate our ambitions and co-innovate in a more coordinated way.

Over the past number of months we have been talking to partners about the form this engagement should take and I’m delighted that this month, we launched our Partner Advisory Board (PAB), with the first wave of many partners joining the new collaboration.

The purpose of the PAB is for industry leading companies of all sizes to come together to discuss and share insights and best practices, to examine innovative propositions, and to debate potential solutions to current and future challenges that business leaders are encountering.

We held our first meeting this week where I was joined by Katherine Ainley (CEO UK & Ireland, Ericsson), Clay Van Doren (CEO Northern and Central Europe, Atos), Mike Grogan (Director Media & Communications Industry, Microsoft) and Warren Tucker (Partner and Head of Cloud & Digital, PwC) to set out the future roadmap.

Our aim as a group is to team up and accelerate the co-creation of digital solutions alongside our customers. This ranges from health, to logistics, transport and manufacturing.

BT has already launched a number of propositions in partnership with the founding members of the Board:

• Our Digital Vision partnership with Atos to provide customers with a powerful AI-based analytics tool to extract value from their digital images and videos,
• Our strategic alliance agreement with Microsoft to accelerate innovation across enterprise voice, cyber security and industry-focused services in sectors from digital manufacturing to health, setting businesses in the UK and around the world back to growth
• The first commercial 5G Private Network ‘off the shelf’ product with Ericsson offering the next generation mobile network technology products to businesses and organisations to enable new innovative applications and IoT capabilities.

And our partnership with PwC to inject deep industry insights – with an initial focus on transport and logistics and healthcare – together with cloud and digital transformation expertise to help organisations solve important problems such as productivity, asset tracking and sustainability.

But it’s not just about the UK’s large businesses and titans of the industry. Going forward, we’ll also champion the growth of UK tech start-ups and scale ups through this process, working with ETC, BT’s Digital Incubator team, to identify and nurture the best tech companies. Our ambition is to help increase digital technology adoption across multiple sectors and improve and increase the number of solutions we can offer to customers.

Over the coming months we plan to welcome even more business partners to the PAB. We’re looking forward to the exciting joint value this can bring, and, in turn, the opportunity we have to build and sustain partners of choice for our 5G, IoT, AI, infrastructure, security and future solutions.

At BT our purpose is to connect for good, and to do so in a way that is inclusive, responsible, and sustainable - our new Partner Advisory Board is no better example of this in action.

BT has been awarded a multi-million pound contract with leading housebuilder Avant Homes, supporting the digital transformation of its business during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The partnership has already seen BT deploy new technology to allow agile working for Avant Homes' sales and customer service workforce during the last 12 months. The investment also allows the developer to further improve its customer journey for new reservations and viewings.

For the next phase of the partnership, BT is providing a cloud-based solution that simplifies the management and operations across Avant Homes’ five regional offices located in Scotland, North East, Yorkshire, and the Midlands, as well as its group head office operation and all development locations.

The solution includes 5G mobile access for all Avant Homes employees offering fast, reliable Internet. It uses EE’s Rapid Site technology to set up a virtual office or contact point from almost anywhere.

The managed service combines BT’s leading fixed network, with EE’s award-winning mobile network to deliver operational efficiencies for the housebuilder whilst empowering its employees with ultrafast connectivity on demand.

Peter Adams, Avant Homes group business systems and transformation director, said: “Our continued upwards trajectory and ambitious growth strategy requires the ongoing review of our processes and technology to ensure we are operating effectively at all levels.

“By implementing these new communication solutions, we can enable better ways of working and communicating internally and externally. The joined up digital system provided by BT means we can enhance our customers’ experience whether they are meeting with us at a development, on the telephone or via video call. Furthermore, using 5G mobile technology also allows our people to set up a virtual office from any development site or location, allowing more flexibility and convenience. We look forward to seeing the positive impact these new systems will have as we integrate them across the business.”

Based in Chesterfield, Avant Homes Group is one of the leading private developers of residential property in the UK. The company has a turnover of £446m and employs around 780 people.

The Avant Homes Group builds approximately 2,000 homes each year. It currently has 57 live developments across its five operating regions.

Roger Craven, North East, Yorkshire & Humber sales director for BT, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has brought challenges for many businesses, even those in industries which have largely been able to continue to operate throughout lockdown periods and restrictions, such as the housing and construction sector. The need to invest in digital technology has never been greater as more work is carried out remotely and teams require secure access to information, contacts and systems from wherever they are.

“It’s hugely rewarding for BT to see its contribution to the digital transformation Avant Homes is making a real difference for their employees and customers.”

BT Group has seen a significant rise in demand on both our fixed and mobile networks, as people stayed at home during the lockdown and millions of people migrated towards working from home. To give some context, in the last week of April alone, BT’s core network transmitted 103.3 Petabytes of data in a single day - the largest total since our records began. When you consider that one Petabyte is the equivalent of 13 years of HD video, you’ll really appreciate how much data we’ve all been consuming.

Our networks have stood up well to this challenge and have been extremely resilient, but the predicament we all find ourselves in has prompted questions about what the ‘new normal’ might look like when we emerge from this pandemic.

As part of the longer-term economic recovery it’s important that we collectively engage to explore how digital technologies and innovation can help, both in terms of the actions we need to put in place now, plus the steps we need to take to maximise the potential of technology and deliver a more resilient, green, thriving economy fit for the future.

A recent survey by BT Skills for Tomorrow and Small Business Britain found that more businesses are increasingly moving services online for survival. Two fifths (42 per cent) of small businesses have moved online due to the pandemic; and over a third (39 per cent) now view digital skills and tools as a key focus area.

Over a third (39 per cent) of small businesses have drastically cut operational costs, with the need for physical offices and other traditional ways of working now increasingly being re-thought.

Looking to the future, 37 per cent are planning for less face to face contact and around a quarter expect working from home to continue.

Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on businesses, society and economy and is likely to significantly accelerate the shift to digital and the pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. From virtual meetings to automated factories, online orders to drone delivery, digital services are growing in importance, permeating an increasing number of sectors and activities.

Digitally agile firms are adapting to the ongoing crisis more successfully, and others are rapidly upskilling in response to challenges to their business models.

The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly seen many businesses change their business models to adapt to the current situation, which could have a beneficial impact on recovery. However, this will not be the case for all and it’s vital that government continues to support and deliver policies to support digital transformation and skills by SMEs.

Even before the pandemic the UK was facing an alarming digital skills gap, which has only been exacerbated by this crisis. Millions of people and a significant number of businesses lack the essential digital skills they need, which risks widening social divides and already has an estimated £63bn annual impact on the UK’s competitiveness.

Through our Skills for Tomorrow programme we will help 10m people, families and businesses across the UK get the skills they need by 2025. But the task ahead is significant and will require intervention from multiple sectors, organisations and institutions to ensure the skills gap is bridged.

The Covid-19 pandemic will have an accelerating impact on the widespread adoption of digital technologies including IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and full fibre broadband. Left unchecked, this has the potential to further widen socio-economic inequality, with those underequipped to exploit the new technology being placed at a disadvantage, particularly within the world of work and in accessing public services.

AI technologies will represent the biggest shake-up in a lifetime to the labour market. This will present two high-level priorities for business and policymakers: retraining for people in jobs which will be displaced; and education and skills development for the jobs of the future.

The key challenge is how we can work together through and beyond the Covid-19 crisis to create a more productive economy, tackle climate change and build a healthy and more equal society.

Through initiatives such as Skills for Tomorrow, and by working with others, we are committed to helping everyone navigate through this to build a better digital future - one where collaboration and innovation can provide the solutions to the challenges we face, and in doing so, ensuring that no-one is left behind in the transformation to a digital society.

For more information about BT’s Skills for Tomorrow programme click here