Case Study: BT achieves global agile collaboration and reduced travel costs with SMART Technologies

BT adapts to a new phase of globalization

BT Innovate & Design (BTID), the unit that builds BT’s systems and networks, needed to support agile, end-to-end development across geographically dispersed teams in the UK, India, China, the USA and Central Europe. Agile working demanded a new physical layout and collaboration technology that let developers work around shared whiteboards and collaborate remotely without constant travel.

BTID ran a five-month proof of concept using SMART collaborative solutions—deploying 17 SMART Boards at Adastral Park plus boards in Belfast, Glasgow and India for a 200‑person pilot—then rolled the blueprint out to five Global Development Centres (including Dallas, London and Pune), enabling a further 700 people. Combined with role-based training and integrated video/audio, the solution cut travel and carbon footprint, sped problem resolution (e.g., a five‑developer issue solved in two days vs. five days of travel), and improved collaboration, staff satisfaction and development quality.

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