Telstra buys Touchbase's Avaya customers

Telstra has purchased an Avaya customer base and staff from integrator Touchbase.

Networking vendor Avaya terminated a five-year partnership with Touchbase after the integrator refused to sign a new contract which restricted its ability to offer services.

It is believed that Telstra has acquired around 30 Touchbase staff.

In a recent interview with CRN, Magnus Maynard, managing director, Touchbase said the integrator refused to agree to stipulations imposed by Avaya which restricted its service capabilities.

In a statement to CRN, Telstra said it has bought Touchbase Australia’s Avaya assets. According to Telstra, Touchbase will continue to trade with other vendor products.

“Telstra will continue to provide customer service to Touchbase's Avaya customers - many of whom are already existing Telstra customers for other ICT services. This acquisition would allow Telstra to deepen their relationship with existing and new customers,” stated Telstra.

“We will also be selling Touchbase’s Avaya products.”

The acquisition of the Touchbase's Avaya customer base and associated staff is part of Telstra’s strategy in the IP telephony space.

With this acquisition, Telstra will be able to provide a broad range of IP Telephony solutions to enterprise and government customers in Australia.

Telstra now has relationships with vendor partners including, Avaya, Cisco, NEC, Ericsson, Nortel and Mitel.

Avaya and Touchbase could not be reached for a comment.