BT offers more support for flexible workers

BT has joined up with Microsoft to develop a pilot project that will offer an online alternative to purchasing the Office applications suite.

The partners say application service provision is a growing market sector, as businesses see the benefits of having access to services without the costs and obligations of ownership.

The intention is to make the Office package available for use on the internet Ð for a fee Ð while the owner/provider takes all responsibility for maintenance and upgrading.

BT has also announced its intention to reduce 'dramatically' the cost of internet calls. New tariffs will be available from the middle of next month. At the same time, the company has confirmed that it will spend more than £100M over the next two years on optimising its network for internet use.

All of this news emerged shortly before BT released its current trading figures, which show a continued climb in profits.

Elliott Chase