Rogers and Microsoft Canada announced a five-year strategic alliance to help enterprise and small and medium business customers accelerate digitization and take full advantage of hybrid work and 5G-enabled solutions. Rogers has selected Microsoft Azure as its strategic cloud for infrastructure and technology workloads and will leverage Azure’s public cloud capabilities to enrich and broaden its mobile business offerings.
This alliance builds on the two company’s long-standing relationship, which has led Rogers to be one of Canada’s largest resellers of Microsoft 365 and Teams solutions.
Rogers is the first in Canada, and one of the first companies globally, to offer Operator Connect Mobile. The vision is to enable organizations to upgrade legacy infrastructure, significantly reduce costs on redundant wireline voice services, and enhance customer and employee experiences via a unified and enterprise compliant Teams experience.
Ron McKenzie, President, Rogers Business
“Landlines and legacy voice services are rapidly being replaced by mobile – the workplace is shifting, and our customers have embraced new ways of working,” said Ron McKenzie, President of Rogers Business. “Together, we are bringing Operator Connect Mobile to Canada, which will help businesses save up to 50% in costs by upgrading outdated, expensive legacy voice infrastructure and shifting to a best-in-class digital calling experience. We’re proud to power the latest digital connectivity advances for Canadians and look forward to playing a pivotal role in helping businesses thrive in the new world of work.”
Operator Connect Mobile, powered by Rogers for Business, will offer customers a fully integrated voice calling experience and allow people and businesses to work securely from anywhere across the devices of their choice.
For example, customers will have the flexibility to make and receive calls on Teams using the Rogers network, and the ability of placing outbound calls through the collaboration enhanced Microsoft Teams application, integrated IP Phones, or directly through the native dialer on a customer’s SIM enabled mobile device.
Supported through a single app, this solution also comes with streamlined technical support as well as direct peering to Rogers Network for enhanced network resilience.
Kevin Peesker, President, Microsoft Canada
“Canada’s success in the 21st century economy requires widespread adoption of digital technologies,” remarked Kevin Peesker, President, Microsoft Canada.
“Canadian businesses of all sizes are re-envisioning how they can use technology, including Microsoft Teams, powered by Azure to deliver a more seamless experience across their mobile device and PC,” added Peesker. “As the first company to announce Operator Connect Mobile in Canada, and by bringing Rogers’ most reliable 5G network together with Microsoft Azure’s cutting-edge cloud services, we are laying the foundation to empower Canadian businesses to compete globally.”
A focus has also been placed on cutting-edge security and leveraging Rogers’ extensive threat intelligence to ensure that customers are provided a secure and reliable voice calling platform.
Modern technology infrastructure
Microsoft and Rogers will work together to optimize networks to bring these unified experiences to customers across Microsoft’s cloud and Rogers’ network. The two companies will continue to partner, invest, and collaborate on delivering Rogers digital business solutioning. Rogers will leverage Azure’s enhanced data and AI capabilities across its business to enable use cases and operational improvements through Microsoft’s new Data Centre of Excellence in Toronto.
“Our alliance with Microsoft further enhances both our 5G network leadership and our customer’s experience,” said Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology & Information Officer, Rogers. “Together, we’ll provide the next-generation service innovations for business customers that will support Canada’s growth and prosperity in the years ahead.”
Added Fernandes, “With this first in Canada alliance, Rogers and Microsoft are opening all-new opportunities in 5G MEC and introducing the next chapter of global hybrid work just as Canada recovers from COVID-19 and looks forward to the economic, social and sustainability advantages of 5G.”
The two technology companies will also explore collaboration on R&D opportunities to support the Internet of Things and Mobile Edge Computing to advance 5G innovation and Canada’s digital economy. Early access to Microsoft’s cloud, AI and edge technology will provide Rogers with the flexibility it needs to rapidly innovate and launch new services and customer experiences enabled by 5G.
