Mr. Robert Stabile reports

BT GROUP SELECTS OPTIVA FOR NEXT-GENERATION APPLICATION SERVER UPGRADE TO BUILD AND DEPLOY INNOVATIVE NEW SERVICES

BT Group, the United Kingdom's leading fixed and mobile telecommunications provider, has extended its strategic partnership with Optiva Inc. to develop and monetize new B2B (business-to-business), B2C (business-to-customer) and B2B2X (business-to-business-to-everything) services. Optiva's application server, a key component of the Optiva Charging Engine, will be upgraded to a next-generation, cloud-native, open architecture service creation platform. It will include Optiva's Open API (application programming interface) framework, enabling integration with new cutting-edge technology partners, including blockchain and artificial-intelligence tools, fostering the growth of new services and new revenue opportunities.

BT Group plans to achieve greater-than-90-per-cent penetration of 5G network coverage by 2028. To support these goals, BT Group needs a fully flexible service creation environment that enables rapid design, testing and deployment of new services. Additionally, it needs support for new partnerships in a wide variety of industries, such as banking, health care and insurance, and the ability to pro-actively address new challenges like fraud.

Optiva's application server will enable BT Group to create the new services by leveraging an automated development framework powered by Optiva's proven test automation platform, improving time to market and reducing operational overhead.

"Optiva has been a strategic partner for over a decade, enabling us to continuously innovate and meet our business goals. The next-generation Optiva application server will allow us to integrate with cutting-edge technology partners and build innovative new services for consumers and enterprises," said Nitin Patel, head of mobile and messaging of BT.

"BT's application server upgrade will provide it with increased power to innovate, integrate and capitalize on emerging technologies, including blockchain and AI tools. It will also expose more network services to support new offerings. We value BT's trust and are committed to further empowering BT to capture new market opportunities, achieve its goals and expand its business success," said Robert Stabile, chief executive officer of Optiva.

About Optiva Inc.

Optiva is a leading provider of mission-critical, cloud-native revenue management software for the telecommunications industry. Its products are delivered globally on the private and public cloud. The company's solutions help service providers maximize digital, 5G, IoT (Internet of things) and emerging-market opportunities to achieve business success.