BT opens its second Customer Innovation showcase in mainland China

BT, one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, announced that it has opened a second Customer Innovation Showcase in Shanghai, making China the only country outside the United Kingdom with two BT showcase centres.

The Customer Innovation Showcase is part of BT’s ongoing investment in the Asia Pacific region and brings the latest video conferencing equipment and networked IT applications all together under one roof, allowing BT to demonstrate how it enables business customers expanding in China to interact directly with cutting edge technologies and services that they already rely on elsewhere. The showcase centre also brings to life the digital networked economy for Chinese corporations that are currently investing in other parts of the world.

In May 2010, BT announced a new investment programme for the Asia Pacific region, covering additional resourcing, new infrastructure and an expanded portfolio of services. As part of this plan, BT’s showcase centers are integral in increasing knowledge of BT’s services among its customers. BT has already hired 240 professionals across the region in the key customer markets of Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore, and will be creating more new jobs in the coming year.

The opening of BT’s latest Showcase in Shanghai follows the launch of BT’s showcases in Hong Kong in September 2010, Beijing in November 2010, Sydney in January this year, Singapore in March and New Delhi in July. These showcases are networked with BT’s showcase centers in the rest of the world – thus providing a truly global experience.

During the launch, Eliza Kwok, managing director for BT China, said: “The decision to establish a second BT Customer Innovation Showcase Centre in China shows this market’s importance in the growth of our business. Many of our customers continue to expand in this market and we are striving to enhance our communications infrastructure and services to support this expansion. It is our hope that our showcase centers will provide customers with a window on how we can fulfill their IT needs, allowing us to better support global multinational customers in China and Chinese multinationals in their globalization ambitions.”

Since entering the China market in 1995, BT has built a solid foundation reinforced by ongoing investments, including the Help Desk and the Research & Development Centre in Beijing and the Technology and Service Centre in Dalian BT also has a well established presence and strong capabilities across China through its IT service delivery arm MDCL-Frontline and its port-facility IT service subsidiary BHR Frontline.