Norada targets Asia-Pac with web-based business tools

By Stuart Finlayson

Business solutions provider Norada has announced its arrival on the Australian market with a products that it says eliminates the threat of viruses in mail systems.

Available as a web hosted application, Norada's Solve360 offers the functionality of systems like Microsoft Exchange and Outlook in a tool that is designed specifically for delivery over the web. By accessing mail as an html file rather than from an internal network, virus threats are removed.

While the company, which has its headquarters in Canada, has a "sprinkling" of customers in Australia at present, Simon Lynch, the company's recently-appointed Managing Director, South East Asia, said that now the company has set up base in Sydney, it is time to dramatically ramp up its operations in the region.

"We will now be more formal in our approach to market through the establishment of a channel."

Lynch, who was formerly Managing Director at Hummingbird Australia/New Zealand, said he will bring that experience to bear in his current role.

"My previous experience at building partner relationships and understanding how organisations can use information management will be important. Part of our target part is in the small to medium business sector, and whether they like it or not, technology is being pushed upon them through the demands of suppliers and customers. All of a sudden they are starting to find they need business tools, and for many organisations of this size, setting up Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes is just too expensive."

The solution, which cost from AUD$14.95 per month per user, allows staff to communicate on a networked system with secure access to all email and company files from any device connected to the Internet. The company expects to have 10,000 users on board by the end of 2004.

"With just an Internet connection, organisations can be up and running on all the essential business tools, allowing them to focus their efforts on their core activities. This way, they don't need to worry about expensive hardware purchases, software installation and maintenance, backups or antivirus. The return on investment is immediate," said Lynch.

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