NetComm signs $3M deal to add security layer to products

Australian broadband hardware vendor NetComm has signed an exclusive distribution deal with Mako Network Systems.

The deal will allow the ASX-listed vendor to operate The Mako Networks System in the Australian market. NetComm has acquired technology and licences in Australia in a deal worth around $3 million, and also gives Netcomm an option to deploy Mako solutions throughout Asia (except Japan).

Mako Networks Limited is a New Zealand-based developer of a managed VPN broadband service that offers customers enterprise level control of its connection to the Internet. The set-up of Mako’s solution links it to router devices, which NetComm is licensed to manufacture, and connects a customer's network to a central management system.

David Stewart, managing director at NetComm, said its channel partners will be able to provide remote monitoring and management services, controlling access to multiple sites through a web console.

"The service acts as an all-in-one router, web filter and firewall that is remotely managed by NetComm,” said Stewart. “The solution is ideal for small to large organisations especially those multiple offices or stores such as franchises and retail networks or where shared access by clients or suppliers is required”.

According to Stewart, clients will have to pay a monthly service fee for the device and service rather than buying a box outright.

"The solution has been a success in the New Zealand market in the small to medium business sector," said Stewart. "Telecom NZ has been the key reseller of Mako services in New Zealand under their own label 'SecureMe', selling solutions to the Health Sector connecting pharmacies and GPs to the Ministry of Health Network.

The transaction will be funded by NetComm using a combination of cash and scrip. Settlement will be by instalments from the execution of the binding agreement through to December 2008, with two tranches of stock valued at AUD0.10 and 0.15 per share respectively, he said.