London, UK – BT Group’s Digital Unit today announces that its modernisation programme to simplify and enhance BT Group’s technology architecture has achieved TM Forum’s prized 'Running on ODA' status. BT Group’s recognition, alongside nine other Communications Service Providers (CSPs) globally who have met the rigorous evaluation criteria, validates their success in leveraging the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) framework and building an efficient and sophisticated technology estate.

‘Running on ODA’ recognises that BT Group is now delivering products and services from reusable components, underpinned by cloud-native and vendor-agnostic solutions. This approach enables BT Group to bring innovative products to market faster, meeting the ever-evolving needs of colleagues and customers with enhanced agility, while at the same time shedding the cost of legacy infrastructure.

TM Forum's 'Running on ODA' recognition aligns seamlessly with BT Group's ongoing modernisation programme, initiated by BT Group’s Digital Unit. The Digital unit was set up to simplify BT Group’s architecture and establish a robust, data-first, AI-ready infrastructure to better support its colleagues and customers and to develop innovative solutions adjacent to its core business.

This achievement follows a series of announcements that BT Group’s Digital Unit has made over the past three years that charts BT Group’s digital transformation – including partnerships with AWS, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, Kyndryl, TCS and BluePlanet as well as achieving CDMC accreditation last year.

Josie Smith, Chief Architect, BT Group said: “The ODA framework is foundational to our modernisation journey, enabling us to simplify our tech architecture and create a future-ready infrastructure. The ‘Running on ODA’ recognition underscores our dedication to building a resilient platform that allows us to respond rapidly to the evolving demands of our business and customers.”

Smith added, “The team at BT Group is also proud to have not only reached this milestone, but also to have helped TM Forum shape the ODA framework – a global blueprint for CSP efficiency and growth. Our role in the development of the framework has included collaborating on the Open API programme, support around data and AI components and participating in TM Forum’s Catalyst projects.”

George Glass, Chief Technology Officer, TM Forum said: "BT Group has demonstrated that it has overcome numerous long-standing obstacles that many in the telecommunications industry face surrounding agility within IT and network systems.  Achieving the ‘Running on ODA’ status is no easy feat, involving a rigorous 360-degree assessment and a commitment from technology teams to drive real change across skills, governance and technical innovation. ODA provides the blueprint for a truly composable architecture to help CSPs transform business agility, significantly reduce costs and increase service velocity and we’re thrilled that  BT Group is adopting ODA to help drive its business transformation.”

For more information about the 'Running on ODA' award, please visit TM Forum's official page: https://www.tmforum.org/oda/running-on-oda/.