Open source e-mail provider Synaq, through a partnership with Vox DataPro and Always On, will offer a cloud-based e-mail application free of the cost of the bandwidth needed to access it.
The partnership offers free WiFi Web mail access for the application, dubbed openCloud, at speeds of up to 21Mbs. This means Synaq's customers can access their e-mail via the cloud, without having to pay for bandwidth required to do so.
The company explains that high bandwidth costs and slow Internet speeds remain hurdles to the uptake of cloud solutions in the country.
“We are trying to remove the cost of accessing e-mail for small- to medium-sized businesses, while still providing high speeds with greater convenience,” says Yossi Hasson, MD of Synaq.
“As much as 40% of enterprise bandwidth is consumed by e-mail traffic, so with this service customers will enjoy an immediate reduction in their bandwidth requirements and costs.”
Hasson believes this will be particularly appealing to SMEs in the country, and explains that the scale of the solution spans a 30- to 1 000-man operation.
He notes, however, that at the greater end of the scale, the solution may have to be clustered to different branches of the operation. For now, the offering is limited to e-mail applications; however, the company is looking to offer other office solutions through the cloud in the future.
Fishbone allows customers to combine multiple ADSL lines for increased speed, for example, with 5Mbps x 4Mbps, ADSL speeds of up to 20Mbps can be achieved.
However, this will cost customers a hefty, albeit discounted, R1 500 per month to rent.
While Hasson opted not to detail the financial aspects of the partnership, he explained that it was mutually beneficial in that VoxDataPro would now have access to a new channel for its Fishbone product and AlwaysOn would enjoy increased volumes on its network.
While SA lags behind international cloud computing trends, Hasson says the local market is maturing. He pointed to recent growth of between 35% and 45% in Synaq's cloud offerings.
“Local providers have struggled to realise the full potential of cloud-based computing, so we are very excited about breaking through those barriers to show how it should be done,” concludes Hasson.
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