AUSTRALIAN communications Goliath Telstra is diving headfirst into the software as a service (SaaS) market, announcing plans to launch a suite of products under the T-Suite brand.

The company would aim its on-demand applications at the small to medium-sized businesses that make up a huge portion of the Australian economy.

Telstra has not announced what applications it plans to deliver via the SaaS business model, but says it will start small scale trials this month with a view to launching a full-scale T-Suite line of products in early 2009.

Telstra Business group managing director Deena Shiff said the T-Suite offering would both improve business productivity in Australia, as well as and assist innovative Australian software designers take their applications to a global market.

“Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are the 'engine room' of the Australian economy and with the launch of with T-Suite they will be able to access the latest on-demand business applications previously only available to big businesses that could afford their own IT departments,” Ms Shiff said.

"For the first time, when it comes to business applications, small businesses will be on a level playing field with the big end of town," she said.

The SaaS market in Australia and NZ is expected to grow at a rate of 65 per cent annually according to research group Forrester, and will be worth $506 million by 2010. Ms Shiff said Telstra's plan was to help foster and be part of that growth.

“T-Suite will be a one-stop shop where established software names will share 'shelf space' with up-and-coming Australian companies,” she said.

“If an Australian software designer comes up with an innovative program it means they will have access to a national market in Australia and can use it as a springboard to the world.”