Ovum cautions Telstra over SaaS offering

As reported by CRN earlier this week, Telstra has launched its T-Suite SaaS platform for small to medium-sized businesses.

The SaaS model moves software away from the desktop to the "webtop" – effectively shifting the usage model from an upfront, desktop installed model to a browser-based, cost per usage model.

Analyst firm Ovum claims the T-Suite program is a strategy by Telstra to garner traffic for its Next G mobile and Next IP broadband networks. It has cautioned the Telco against entering the highly competitive SaaS market, claiming Telstra may be overreaching its core competencies.

While differentiating itself by offering a retail space, Telstra’s T-Suite platform will face direct competition with other ‘as service’ and ‘cloud computing’ offerings from vendors such as Google, Salesforce and IBM.

According to Ovum, Telstra should harness its marketing power and instead adopt a platform as a service offering for developers instead.

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