BT Deploys 'Virtual Fitting Rooms' for Designer Brand Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger, a well known designer brand, has announced that it has signed a five-year managed services contract with BT (News - Alert).

The agreement entails BT to provide a videoconferencing solution for the lifestyle brand which includes 'virtual fitting rooms.' This solution waa developed along with TANDBERG which is now part of Cisco (News - Alert)TelePresence Technology Group. The virtual fitting rooms will enable immediate in-person communications and collaboration among Tommy Hilfiger's designers and manufacturing facilities.

Company sources added that this solution connects offices across the world including locations in Amsterdam, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

The virtual fitting rooms are based on BT's Unified Communications (News - Alert)Video solution along with Cisco's TANDBERG technology that includes add-ons such as mobile cameras and recording facilities. This enables the design team based in Amsterdam and New York to collaborate faster and more effectively with the manufacturing team in Hong Kong. The solution enables teams to discuss all developments concerning even single pieces of a collection on a face-to-face basis without having to travel.

'We were impressed by BT's knowledge and experience in the videoconferencing area. This, combined with the creative, innovative solution which the BT-Cisco team offered, made the decision easy,' said Fred Gehring, CEO Tommy Hilfiger Group.

Gehring added, 'The solution will bring us an immersive virtual meeting experience and save both time and money. Teams will be able to interact and collaborate as if they were in the same room, making us much more agile and competitive. We look forward to better and more regular communication between our entities across the globe.'

Bas Burger, CEO BT Benelux explained that this solution will also reduce carbon emissions. He pointed out that this application is an example to show how sustainability and cost-savings go hand-in-hand.

'We at BT understand that sustainability is not an altruistic activity. To sustain the business, investments need to show return,' Burger added.

According to the contract TANDBERG Telepresence (News - Alert)T3 systems will be provided at Amsterdam and New York, one Telepresence T1 system in Tokyo, three customized 'virtual fitting rooms' will be deployed in Amsterdam, New York and Hong Kong besides including desktop units, supporting infrastructure like recording facilities and software.

Tommy Hilfiger will benefit from BT's One Source for TANDBERG, a complete and ubiquitous managed services wrap which includes 24/7 helpdesk support, automated call scheduling and call launching, on-site maintenance, pro-active system monitoring and remote diagnostics.

BT sources emphasized that this reliable and easy to use service will provide users and administrators with a single point of contact for all their support needs.

Shamila Janakiraman is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Shamila's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Patrick Barnard