Today, we are proud to announce another global expansion of BPOS, with commercial availability in 17 new markets.  In addition, we’re localizing the Microsoft Online Customer Portal in 13 more languages.

With this, BPOS is now available in 39 countries and regions; the products that comprise BPOS are localized in up to 45 languages; and the Microsoft Online Customer Portal is localized in 18 different languages.

In addition, we are excited to announce that customers using BPOS Dedicated (BPOS-D) now have access to voice in the cloud through Office Communications Online – an important first step towards our vision of offering voice in the cloud.

This is our second major global expansion; the first being in March 2009.  BPOS is now commercially available in the following countries and regions: Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, Poland and Romania. In addition, the following countries and regions will launch BPOS in their local markets later this month:  Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Trinidad & Tobago.  Other countries and regions where BPOS is available today include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and United States.

The new languages added to the Microsoft Online Customer Portal include: Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian and Swedish.  

In addition to expanded global availability, US-based BPOS Dedicated customers can now enjoy a more complete unified communications (UC) experience in the cloud with Office Communications Online. Optimized for highly mobile information workers, the new voice capabilities enable people to make and receive phone calls anywhere using their PC and any broadband connection. The new service helps people be more productive by providing a simple UC experience, the ability to reach the right person at the right time, and improved mobility. BPOS-D can reduce the load on customers’ existing PBX (private branch exchange) investments by moving some workers onto a cloud based solution, but is not intended to replace all PBX functionality at this time.

Initially, the new voice service is offered in the US only, and it is important to note that connectivity from a qualified SIP (session initiation protocol) trunking provider is required for customers to connect to the PSTN (public switched telephone network). Currently, these services are available from Global Crossing (www.globalcrossing.com).

For more information on the most recent BPOS service updates, please see our earlier blog post, and let us know if you have any questions.