TalkSwitch has signed on Lan 1 to distribute its small business solutions in Australia.

Phone systems provider, TalkSwitch, has announced that it will sign a distribution agreement with Lan 1 to bring TalkSwitch IP PBX solutions to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

With some of the highest broadband penetration rates in the world and a keen adopter of VoIP technology, Australia is a market ripe for the picking for IP providers like TalkSwitch.

“Australia has a highly advanced telecom infrastructure and a growing demand for telephone systems that allow the small business to take full advantage of that infrastructure,” said Jan Schreen, president and chief executive officer, TalkSwitch.

Lan 1, a value added distributor in Australia, is a major distributor of VoIP equipment and has an IP-centric channel. The agreement with TalkSwitch will provide Lan 1 resellers an offering geared specifically to small business.

“Choosing the right partner to reach such a dynamic market was not something we took lightly, however the decision was made easy when we entered discussions with Lan 1,” said Schreen.

Daniel Lee, managing director, Lan 1, also comments on the importance of channel relationships and the benefits for the distributor in adding TalkSwitch hybrid IP PBX systems, analogue and IP telephone handsets as well as software applications to its portfolio.

“We’re pleased to be the authorised TalkSwitch distributor for the region,” said Lee. “TalkSwitch has a proven solution that addresses the needs of small business, offering a full set of essential call handling features designed to be simple enough for customers to manage and configure themselves.”

In terms of marketing the solution, Lan 1 suggests that traditional IT resellers focus on the ease with which TalkSwitch products can be deployed and used, while phone system resellers advocate the fact that the IP phone system operates like traditional PBX.

“With its true mix of analogue and IP connectivity, these systems are highly flexible and very powerful,” Lee said. “We are delighted to be selected to introduce these systems into the market.”