Published on the 02/05/2013 | Written by Beverley Head
Telstra has scored the first significant contract in Asia for its Network Application and Services (NAS) division, a group that Telstra says is leading its expansion into new markets in Asia…
Telstra has been awarded a three-year multi-million dollar business communications contract – its largest global contract to date – with Jetstar, said to be the largest low-cost airline carrier in the Asia Pacific region.
Telstra’s NAS already serves a number of major organisations in Australia including the Department of Human Services, Australia Post and National Australia Bank.
Telstra Global managing director and CEO Martijn Blanken said “Asia is a key geographical market for Telstra, one where we have great success and a strong reputation. The region also represents a key pillar of growth for Telstra.
“To extend our relationship with Jetstar, a recognised and dynamic Asian business, is testament to the work we’re doing and we’re looking forward to continuing the progress we’ve already made together, going forward in the region.”
Telstra said that its expansion into new markets in Asia was being spearheaded by its NAS division, which grew revenues by 10.5 percent last year. However the group will need to grow much faster to achieve the aspiration Telstra was reported to have for it a year ago.
Telstra reported 10.5 percent growth for NAS to $1.26b in FY12 and in its first half-year result for FY13, 10.5 percent growth on the corresponding period a year earlier. However the head of Telstra Enterprise & Government, Paul Geason, told the Australian newspaper in April 2012 that Telstra had identified more than $3b of new contracts and renewals it believed it could win in the year ahead, with government, financial services and resources firms forming the three avenues of attack.
Telstra has been providing services to Jetstar since 2006 and under the new contract, as Jetstar’s preferred telecommunications supplier, Telstra will supply a dedicated managed communications services team to work across all of Jetstar’s business to support the airline’s ICT operations in the region. Telstra will also continue to provide domestic and international voice, mobile and data services, including wide area network and global data centre services.
A dedicated Telstra team will be responsible for Jetstar’s network architecture, global procurement services, finance management, project change management, continuous improvement and interface management.
Jetstar CIO, Steve Tame, said the dedicated resources provided by Telstra would be an invaluable addition to the business. “By incorporating NAS as part of the new contract, there will now be a dedicated Telstra team working as an extension of our existing IT team. This puts us in a strong position to tailor our networks for future demand.”