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Telstra T-Suite® service goes live with nine SME software applications


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Telstra T-Suite® service goes live with nine SME software applications

Telstra announced that from today a raft of online software applications will be available to Australian businesses with the Telstra T-Suite® Software as a Service platform going live across the country.

The T-Suite applications will be available to lease online for a predictable monthly fee and without expensive upfront licensing fees, meaning businesses can preserve vital cash reserves during the current tough economic climate.

From today, Australian small businesses in all industry sectors will be able to:

* Generate employment agreements and manage everyday staff issues with easy to use HR processes and templates from Workforce Guardian® that are updated online to reflect changes in employment law.
* Help protect their businesses from viruses, malicious Internet attacks and loss of sensitive data with security tools provided by Telstra, MessageLabs® (now part of Symantec) and McAfee®.
* Improve collaboration between suppliers, staff and customers with Microsoft® SharePoint, Microsoft® Exchange Mail and Skoot", which allows small businesses to securely and quickly send/share large files too big for email
* Automate business processes such as billing, invoicing and document management with software offered by WORKetc and access Microsoft Dynamics® CRM software.

Telstra Business Group Managing Director, Deena Shiff, said Australia was a nation of small businesses, with approximately 1.9 million companies1, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

“In the current economic climate, those small businesses are looking for ways to improve cash flow and better manage risks and compliance obligations and we believe the T Suite service provides a cost effective answer at the right time,” Ms Shiff said.

"A business simply goes to www.telstra.com/T-SUITE, selects the application they would like to use in their business and signs up. The software applications are available 24/7 and automatically updated with the latest versions. Most applications are available for a free month trial.

“Three out of every four businesses in Australia are SMEs - they employ nearly half of the workforce and contribute nearly half of our total GDP. Access to online software through the T-Suite service can help boost their productivity, optimise IT and information security and ensure business continuity.”

This week’s launch of the T-Suite service is only the start. Xero, a small business accounting system, Microsoft Online Services as well as other software will be added to the T-Suite applications catalogue over the coming months. Telstra is currently in talks with up to 50 local and international software vendors.

Workforce Guardian Managing Director, Adrienne Unkovich, said the T-Suite service was timely given a new Telstra Business survey2, also released today, revealing almost half (46 per cent) of small businesses currently do not have any systems in place to manage the new IR laws.

“T-Suite applications gives us the scale to help thousands of small businesses properly prepare themselves for the massive changes in employment laws recently passed by the federal Parliament and ensure they are kept constantly up to date with any modifications to the laws,” she said.

WORKetc founder Daniel Barnett welcomed the launch of the T-Suite service: “Better business productivity and efficiencies are vital for small businesses in today’s economic climate. WORKetc, through the T-Suite service, delivers best practice business workflow and management of key business tasks from billing to project management, sales and marketing.”

Topia Technologies (Skoot) CEO Janine Terrano said: “Telstra is a world-wide leader in bringing SaaS to its small business customers in Australia. Telstra’s T-Suite service enables smaller companies to easily adoptbest of breed technologies to stay competitive and cost efficient.”

Kerrie-Anne Turner, senior director Software-as-a Service A/NZ for Symantec said: “To be part of the Telstra T-Suite SaaS solution is exciting as it represents a major endorsement for SaaS to the wider Australian marketplace.”

Steve Perchard, McAfee Asia Pacific Director Consumer & Small Business, said: “T-Suite’s offering of McAfee Total Protection Service delivers an integrated security solution ideally suited to Small Business’ needs.”

Prices for T-Suite applications start from as little as $4 per user per month for desktop security; $16.95 for email; $14 for data back per service per month and collaboration software starts at $7.95 (storage space per month). In most cases businesses can register and have access to their software in a matter of minutes.

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Business Operators (cat. no. 8175.0), October 2008.

2Telstra surveyed 300 small businesses between 5-20 employees between 18 March-23 March regarding their preparedness for the upcoming changes to federal industrial relations laws. The full survey results are contained in a separate press release.

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