White paper outlines BT's SDK approach

BT is now a few years into a radical IT transformation programme that has seen the opening up of the company’s network and technology platform.

In that time, BT has made some gigantic strides in moving away from a model based on distributed, bespoke products and services to a new approach characterised by consolidation, modularisation, re-use and openness.

Thousands of disparate systems in and around the company have been successfully consolidated into around just thirty platforms which deliver core BT services such as billing, CRM and domain management.

Critically, the key result of this ongoing structural rationalisation is that the power of BT’s network has been brought to a wider audience. This means organisations and individuals outside of BT can now create, test, develop and deliver their own innovative solutions via BT’s 21CN platform.

The story behind BT’s changing infrastructure and how it has become a blueprint for new ways of doing business is discussed in a new white paper published recently by BT Innovate & Design entitled Keeping an open mind.

In particular, the white paper explores BT’s approach to SDKs (software development kit).

Creating applications

An SDK can be described as a set of development tools that allow for the creation of applications to run on a particular platform, operating system, software application, or similar. Examples include Facebook’s SDK and Apple iPhone’s SDK which allow developers to create applications to run on those platforms.

BT has introduced a number of distinct classes of SDKs – each one designed for different stakeholders. Users of these SDKs range from service provider organisations to specific developer communities to those inside BT itself.

Keeping an open mind identifies two key benefits enabled by the development and use of BT’s SDK.

Firstly, it helps to achieve cost reduction through the re-use of processes, platforms and data to create new applications..

Secondly, it enables the creation of new eco-systems and business models in which third party developers, customers, suppliers and others can use BT’s SDKs to create their own products and services on BT’s core platform.

Jason Cook, IT director, BT Innovate & Design, explained: “SDK is all about simplification, re-use and doing things faster, better and cheaper. One key area where BT is focusing its SDK approach is on the company’s internal IT platform estate allowing underlying technologies and costs to be shared. Real efficiencies are being achieved by utilising existing processes, platforms and data to create new applications and solutions. This means that we are now realising an architecture that will be around 80 per cent data driven. This in turn enables integration between various platforms to be significantly improved resulting in faster product and service development.”

“But in addition,” continued Jason, “the SDK method also fosters greater collaboration and communication between BT and its customers and other parties. The result is that high quality products and services can be created far more quickly. For example, innovative services such as Salesforce.com CRM for small and medium enterprises and the extension, Ribbit for Salesforce, have been built using BT’s SDK. Because we are progressively leveraging BT’s SDK as it develops further, our Global Services business is showing a significant improvement in how it can deliver services for large multinational and enterprise customers.”

Jason added: “It’s fair to say that BT’s move towards an SDK-driven environment is a huge challenge and we are on a constant learning curve. Our approach however can only be iterative, especially given the company’s disparate and complex legacy IT estate. Adopting this approach means that we improve in smaller more achievable steps but in a way which directly and increasingly contributes to our business value. This is much more sensible than attempting a more risky big bang strategy”.

Right first time

“However, as the white paper explains, we’ve come a long way. SDK has allowed us to become more agile, delivering products and services to market much more quickly. Meanwhile quality and getting things ‘right first time’ has improved greatly and the cost of rolling out solutions has been reduced because of agile development.”

Jason concluded: “BT is undergoing a significant transformation as a business as we strive to become more agile and more innovative. I believe the SDK approach and philosophy is right at the heart of that transformation.”

Download a pdf of the white paper, Keeping an open mind.