Client case studies
BT Global Services – sales preparation training
How Xpertise enabled the presales teams at BT Global Services to prepare for the launch of major new Microsoft products.
BT Global Services is BT’s IT services and solutions division, which employs around 20,000 people. It provides a wide range of information and communications technology services, from desktop and network equipment and software, transport and connectivity, IP-based e-business solutions, managed network services and systems integration, to consultancy and professional services for complex global requirements.
The challenge
When you are a £20 billion turnover business which delivers leading-edge IT solutions, it pays to take the skills of your presales teams seriously. BT Global Services certainly does – a fact reflected in its sales success. For BT Global Services, sound product knowledge is an essential part of selling a technical solution. When BT Global Services wanted to substantially increase its business in key new Microsoft technologies, Microsoft and Xpertise collaborated to provide the training needed by BT Global Services’ presales teams.
The solution
At the time, some of these Microsoft technologies – such as Exchange Server 2007 – weren’t commercially available. This meant that no course material was available either. For Xpertise, this wasn’t unusual, since the company has won global awards for the development and delivery of high-profile training programmes in advance of products shipping. Indeed, Xpertise has successfully delivered early readiness training to Microsoft’s own teams and partner network, which gave BT the reassurance it needed that Xpertise was the right partner for this programme.
For BT Global Services, Xpertise developed two training courses – the first for those members of the presales team who focus on lead generation, and a more in-depth course for those who work directly with the client, advising them on the most appropriate solution for their needs.
In both cases, people were given an in-depth overview of the products – Exchange Server, SharePoint, Live Communication Server and Live Meeting – with additional product training on the technologies used to deploy and manage those products, such as Systems Management Server and Microsoft Operations Manager, being provided on the longer course. All delegates also undertook an e-learning course, to support the classroom learning and transform the programme into a ‘blended’ learning solution. Around three hundred people took part in the training programme in the UK – and Xpertise is also tasked with providing the training for BT Global Services’ teams around the world. On top of this, Xpertise is currently developing a training programme for the end users – the customers of BT Global Services – to help them use their software solution more effectively. Finally, Xpertise is also developing a one-day course on unified communications, which focuses on how Microsoft, Nortel and Cisco’s products work together – and how BT can bring its expertise into play to make the most complex solutions work.
According to Ian Brennan, a BT Microsoft Solutions Consultant, “Xpertise is an extremely professional company to work with: all the way down the line, from account management through to training delivery. They’re really focused on providing something which is 100% relevant – and this shows in their outstanding results. They went the extra mile, at every opportunity, to make our roll out a success – and to help prepare our sales force to deliver to our customers.”