Microsoft joins Concert

BT and MCI are joining forces with Microsoft to develop a suite of intranet services targeted at international customers.

Concert Communications Services, the BT/MCI joint venture communications company, will market the service portfolio to extend business Internet and intranet access to parts of the world where Internet availability is lagging.

The suite will bundle Concert's managed data networking services, including the InternetPlus access service and Concert frame relay service, with Microsoft's range of messaging and intranet platforms.

The agreement would give Microsoft a means of distributing its BackOffice server technology, including Microsoft's Internet Server, and software, including the Explorer browser, said Simon Witts, director of Microsoft U.K. The deal will also result in the sharing of expertise between Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters and BT's research laboratories in Martlesham, he said.