Amcom Telecommunications has inked a deal which opens the door to it selling cloud-based services to the potentially lucrative higher education market.
The Perth-based company has struck an agreement with Australia’s Academic and Research Network - AARNet - for provision of its unified communications and cloud-based telephony packages.
The service encompasses a telephony network provided over the cloud, which enables users to connect from any location and on any device.
It also changes the charging arrangement for telephony networks from upfront investment to services being paid for on a consumption basis.
The agreement involves Amcom’s telephony network being linked up with AARNet’s existing data and communications networks, which connect 38 universities across Australia as well as the CSIRO.
It will see AARNet essentially act as a facilitator to Amcom selling the service to the 39 member institutions, which Amcom chief executive Clive Stein said was a significant opportunity.
“This has really positioned us incredibly well to service a big market, it will take time … it’s a very large market and it’s very significant,” Mr Stein said.
“It’s a great opportunity and in time we’ll be able to translate that into numbers.”
Chief executive of AARNet Chris Hancock said the cloud-based product was the “next generation” of communication tools and ideally suited its members.