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Frontline sets up networking practice

Integrator says focus will be on HP ProCurve and Juniper networking offerings

National integrator, Frontline Systems, has taken the wrappers off a new networking practice to broaden its datacentre and infrastructure capabilities.

Frontline head of sales, Chris Ford, said it had recruited one dedicated sales manager, as well as one technical employee, to man the networking division. Several of its consultants are also now well-versed in networking, he said. More staff would be brought on-board as the business matured.

The initial focus is on HP ProCurve and Juniper offerings, but Ford didn’t rule out working with other tier-one vendors such as Cisco, depending on customer requirements. Frontline’s primary focus to date has been providing server, storage and consulting products and services.

“There is a morphing of technology and convergence today, and networking plays an important part in that,” Ford told ARN. “Frontline has been a significant player in the datacentre, but networking has been more of an accidental for us than anything else.

“We didn’t have a particular strategy around networking but customers have been asking us to assist.”

Ford said HP’s evolving converged infrastructure strategy, coupled with its aggressive push into the networking space, made it a good time to invest. He claimed Frontline was HP’s largest enterprise partner in Australia.

“This is where technology is heading and customers are focusing, so it’s imperative we service that market,” he said.

The integrator also recently built a Singapore datacentre and has flagged cloud computing as an area of opportunity moving forward.

Ford anticipated the new division will bring at least $10 million in its first year. Frontline focuses on enterprise-sized customers and has a strong heritage in the banking and finance and telecommunications verticals.

The decision to build out a networking practice follows Frontline’s investment into Oracle capabilities following the vendor’s acquisition of its key vendor partner, Sun.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: ARN, Cisco, Frontline Systems, Hewlett-Packard, HP, HP ProCurve, Integrator, Juniper, Juniper Networks, Oracle
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