Telstra’s launch of its T-Suite retail platform aimed at SMBs has been described as a ‘carefully measured step forward on SaaS’, but one which may present small to medium sized businesses with a real dilemma.

Telstra officially launched its T-Suite software-as-a-service (SaaS) a few days ago following a period of online beta that started in mid-2008. T-Suite targets small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) offering easy web access, try before you buy, pay as you go, as well as single sign-on and aggregated billing.
 
Ovum’s public sector research director, Steve Hodgkinson, says that many SMBs will likely require multiple sales and support call interactions to decide to buy, migrate from their existing services and get things working properly.
 
Hodgkinson also has a word of warning for Telstra and its T-Suite offering: “If and when they (SMBs) trial the service and decide to switch, it had better live up to expectations.”

“It will be the Telstra and T-Suite brands that take a beating in the online chat forums if services don’t live up to expectations, and T-Suite’s margins that take a hit if the support staff are too busy,” adds Hodgkinson.

According to Hodgkinson, Telstra is right to be very choosy about the ISVs that it admits onto the T-Suite platform and to carefully test the offerings before going live, and he gives a tick to Telstra which he says has “cleverly linked T-Suite to the challenges of complying with new industrial relations laws by 1 July.”
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