BT International and Netskope expand AI security partnership

BT International has widened its partnership with Netskope, pairing the vendor's Security Service Edge (SSE) portfolio with its Global Fabric network-as-a-service platform to give multinational customers a faster, more consistent route to AI, cloud and automated workflows.

The deal connects Netskope One SSE directly into Global Fabric, BT's network-as-a-service offering for business customers. BT says the combination will cut network delays, lift application performance and deliver uniform security for companies running operations across multiple sites and regions.

The service leans on direct internet exchange point (IXP) connections and network access points around the world. That architecture shortens the distance data has to travel between users, applications and security services, which matters most for latency-sensitive AI workloads.

What do customers actually get?

In practice, the partnership gives enterprises a single integrated path: traffic rides BT's Global Fabric and hits Netskope's security controls along the way, rather than passing through separate security layers added after the fact. BT positions this as a way to make AI and cloud adoption simpler for multinationals while keeping security risks in check.

The operator also stresses flexibility. Customers can choose the level of protection that matches their business rather than accepting a fixed security tier.

Matt Swinden, Managing Director of Strategy and Product at BT International, framed the deal as infrastructure work rather than a marketing exercise. "Netskope is a strategic partner in helping us deliver the AI-ready digital foundations our customers need," he said.

He added: "Bringing together the Netskope SSE platform with Global Fabric gives customers a more predictable, higher-performing path between their users, agents, and the security services protecting them, while giving them the flexibility to choose the level of protection that fits their business."

Security built into the network path

For Netskope, the partnership is a chance to attach its platform to one of Europe's largest carrier networks. Parag Thakore, Chief Product Officer at Netskope, argued that AI workloads have changed what security architecture must do.

"AI is rapidly changing what organisations need from their security architecture," Thakore said. "Agents, applications, and users all need fast, reliable, real-time access to data and cloud services, and that means security has to be built into the network path, not bolted on as an afterthought."

He said the tighter integration of Netskope One with Global Fabric gives multinational customers "an optimised, high-performance routing capability to the protection they need, without the latency and complexity of traditional architectures."

Context and what comes next

The expansion continues a run of security-focused moves by BT, which earlier paired with Microsoft on countering AI-driven cyber threats in the UK. For Netskope, carrier partnerships have become a key channel to reach large enterprise accounts that want security delivered as part of the network contract rather than procured separately.

The two companies have not disclosed contract values, subscriber targets or rollout timelines. They say only that the expanded partnership should help multinational companies adopt AI and cloud technologies more easily while managing the security risks that come with them — a proposition that will be tested as enterprise AI traffic volumes grow.