BT’s global network will help the world’s leading diamond company connect generations of people with the Earth's natural treasures. BT has won a significant new contract with The De Beers Group of Companies.  The six-year agreement, worth US $37m (around R 390m), sees BT orchestrate a wide range of IT services across 70 De Beers Group sites, including exploration and mining locations across the world.  Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company. Its diamond exploration, mining and marketing operations directly or indirectly employ more than 20,000 people globally.
De Beers and BT teams are bringing together a full range of BT Connect networking technologies including fibre, microwave and satellite. These will give De Beers staff, whether they are located in the frozen Northwest Territories of Canada, the Bushveld regions of southern Africa or the cities of Europe, Middle East and Asia, access to business applications and data storage as well as voice and conferencing services.

BT is also helping De Beers to tune its network to its business needs.  BT Connect Accelerate allows De Beers to prioritise its critical business applications accessed across its global network to ensure a better and more productive user experience for all employees. BT One high-definition video conferencing is a crucial application for De Beers. As many of its sites are remote, travel is expensive and time consuming.  Furthermore, it is important that De Beers can extend the reach of its experts wherever they may be, allowing them to work effectively with its global workforce. Craig Charlton, CIO, De Beers Group of Companies, said: “Whether it’s connecting our mining assets or our global distribution network, we need a partner with a strong track record.  Using BT’s network will better connect our global operations.”

Luis Alvarez, chief executive officer, BT Global Services, said: “IT has become an art as much as a science.  We’re working together with De Beers to orchestrate people, applications and systems around highly-tuned intelligent networks to deliver the best performance at the most competitive cost.” 
“BT networks will bring together all De Beers sites whether they’re in the frozen north of Canada, which can only be reached in person for three months of the year, or the far reaches of Botswana.  This is a master-class in the art of connecting, all designed to deliver stunning business outcomes.”