Open-source specialist Synaq has teamed up with AlwaysOn hotspots and Vox DataPro to allow its customers access to cloud-based mail without paying for the bandwidth needed to access it.

Synaq MD Yossi Hasson says the acceptance of cloud computing, specifically accessing mail from the cloud, is maturing. However, he says local Internet speeds and costs have long been a barrier.

Cloud computing involves delivering applications and processing from a central server, usually over the Internet.

“We decided not to wait for cheaper bandwidth and go ahead and get the product off the ground anyway,” he says.

Essentially, Synaq’s customers using either Vox’s Fishbone bonded digital subscriber line product or those accessing a wireless AlwaysOn Wi-Fi hotspot, will no longer have to pay for the bandwidth they use when accessing their cloud-based mail.

It’s dubbing the solution “openCloud”.

Hasson says as much as 40% of an enterprise’s bandwidth costs is consumed by e-mail traffic.

“We are trying to remove the cost of accessing e-mail for small to medium-sized business, while still providing high speeds with greater convenience,” says Hasson.

For the time being, the only application that will be available on openCloud is e-mail. However, Hasson says Synaq will offer other applications later.

“We have spent eight months putting the product together and we believe we have built a sustainable model,” he says.

Synaq is expecting on the price of bandwidth coming down over the next few months. However, Hasson says the company is not relying on a decrease to offer the product.

“Local providers have struggled to realise the full potential of cloud-based computing, so we are very excited about breaking through those barriers to show how it should be done,” says Hasson.

Vox DataPro MD Gary Sweidan says the new product will also benefit Vox, since it provides another sales channel for the company’s Fishbone technology. — Candice Jones, TechCentral