SYDNEY -- 13 March 2000 -- Australian application service provider (ASP), Alta, has chosen a Cisco Systems network to enhance its hosted application service offerings for Australia's large and medium enterprises. Following the deployment of the network, Alta will become the first Australian ASP to obtain the Cisco Powered ASP certification.
Alta offers a comprehensive suite of network services and hosted applications for large and medium enterprises and is one of the first ASPs to operate in Australia. ASPs host, implement and maintain enterprise applications such as enterprise relationship management, data warehousing, human resources, financial management and e-commerce software, enabling companies to free-up resources and focus on core business and profit-generating activities.
Alta hosts its customers' applications at a central site, which users access via a secure, soon-to-be-certified Cisco Powered ASP network. In order to qualify for the Cisco Powered certification, service providers must meet stringent requirements, including a modern, robust network built on Cisco's leading networking technology. To ensure a high quality of service is maintained, Alta has entered into an ongoing maintenance agreement with Cisco.
"Wide-scale application hosting across the Internet demands an intelligent, end-to-end network infrastructure to satisfy customer expectations for integration, reliability, security, and performance," said George Caravias, Chief Executive Officer, Alta. "Alta selected Cisco Powered infrastructure because it delivers a robust, reliable and scalable network solution."
Mr Caravias added, "Alta is impressed by the initiatives Cisco is implementing to support the ASP industry, and we want to align with Cisco to promote the growth of hosted application services worldwide."
"The ASP model means enterprises of all sizes can have business-enhancing applications delivered, cost-effectively and hassle-free over the Internet," said Terry Walsh, Managing Director Cisco Systems Australia & New Zealand. "We are pleased to be working with Alta, which is demonstrating considerable leadership in this powerful new approach to business."
About Alta
Alta is one of Australia's leading Application Service Providers (ASP). The company provides application services for large-scale content delivery, e-commerce systems, commercial web sites, enterprise applications and a range of custom solutions on a managed service basis.
Alta's notable achievements include hosting the Election '98 Virtual Tally Room for the Australian Electoral Commission. The company set Internet history in October 1998 when it hosted the largest live Internet event in the country's history, serving more than one million pages in a 24-hour period. It surpassed this achievement in 1999, by hosting the Referendum Virtual Tally Room and serving more than 1.3 million page views.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at http://www.cisco.com.
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