St George bank has started promoting software-as-a-service (SaaS) via an online portal, in a further sign of cloud distribution shaking up the traditional IT channel.
The bank is promoting a range of cloud services, including online accounting and backup, under the brand MyBusiness Connect, a new online distribution portal provided by UK vendor BCSG and promoted by St George under the tagline "brought to you by St George".
St George customers are being promised up to a 70 percent discount "compared to going direct". The bank is also offering demonstrations at its branches.
Starting from $25 per month, customers can get access to a range of tools, such as Saasu and Receipt Bank for managing finances, MozyPro for backup, Law Central for legal document creation, website builder bOnline, Act Cloud for online marketing and CRM and PlanHQ for creating business plans. Users have a single login and get access to support.
With more than 300,000 small business customers, St George is one of several large organisations tapping into this market.
Australia's largest tax firm for individual clients, Deloitte Private, has already built its own cloud accounting platform for the Australian market. The firm reported last year it had 13,000 client entities as potential users of the system.
At the time, Deloitte Private's then-national managing partner David Hill said the firm wanted to be a "distribution channel" for business apps.
Telstra is also broadening its ambitions in the SaaS space. No stranger to offering cloud services, it launched a new apps marketplace late last year, signalling its intentions to extend the offerings beyond Office 365. Last year the carrier claimed 400,000 users of its T-Suite.
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