Networking integrator, O2 Networks, and vendor partner, Riverbed, have won a new deal with recruitment company, Skilled Group.

The contract, gained through competitive tender, is for the implementation and support services of Riverbed WAN optimisation technology to reduce Skilled Group's bandwidth usage, accelerate application performance and consolidate IT infrastructure.

The initial rollout spans 35 sites. The second phase will allow Skilled Group to eliminate up to 50 file servers from remote locations.

O2 Networks managing director, Euan Prentice, said the deal was significant as the integrator had not worked with Skilled Group previously.

"It's a reasonably sized enterprise customer for us and it's always pleasing to pick up a new customer. We expect the support services to run over several years and we're going to be working with them on other projects in the future," Prentice said.

O2 Networks has more than 50 Riverbed clients in Victoria alone, Prentice said, and has enjoyed 70 per cent growth year-on-year for the past five years. The integrator, which has also has a presence in Sydney, offers clients technologies from a range of networking vendors including F5 Networks and Blue Coat.