Brennan will support Keycorp's desktops, servers, and provide applications management and maintenance support in a three-year agreement worth more than $1.8 million.
Keycorp's major shareholder, Telstra, is also the sole owner of deposed incumbent Kaz.
Keycorp chief information officer Jeff Beencke said Brennan IT was chosen because it was "better attuned" to the 400-seat organisation than competitors that aimed more at organisations with 2000 seats or more.
Brennan IT expected to have two to three more 500-seat deals by the end of the year, managing director David Stevens said.
The company was expanding, looking to add another five sales staff, almost doubling its present total.
But finding the right candidates had been difficult.
"Service-oriented sales guys are particularly difficult to find," Mr Stevens said.
Brennan IT, which operates business-focused telco, SecureTel, also derived 23 per cent of revenue from hardware and software, he said.
The company, which has 70 staff and revenue of $70 million, is planning for a 48 per cent increase in revenue for the full year and 70 per cent growth in earnings.
The SecureTel business was the profit engine, contributing about 60 per cent of earnings, Mr Stevens said.
He said Brennan IT had opened Canberra, Adelaide and Perth offices earlier in the year, but had no plans for a share-market float.
"We want to be able to move into emerging markets – that may not have an impact on our bottom line in the short term – and not have to answer to shareholders for that," he said.
Mr Stevens said much vendor-led commentary on the SME market was disconnected from what was happening in the real world.
He said companies with less than 50 seats were mainly concerned with system stability, performance and cost of ownership, and those with more than 50 seats found security and attendant issues, such as director liability, more important.
"We don't see them at all concerned about the server platform that they are running or the types of PCs on their desktops," Mr Stevens said.
"Often, especially in the smaller companies of 250 seats or less, the guy that owns the company is the MD, so every dollar you are spending is his dollar and he is very concerned about getting that dollar back."
Chris Jenkins, The Australian April 19, 2005
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