Brothers open Sydney's Matrix

The MD of Sydney's newest network integrator has claimed Australian system integrators have done a poor job filling network integration needs, opening a gap in the market for specialist companies like his own.

Deni Saupin, managing director of Matrix CNI, said he believed his new consultancy and integration company had the customer relationships and expertise to revolutionise Australian network integration.

"Here's something a bit contentious. A lot of system integrators believe they have network expertise, but we don't think so. They might do business on the basis of existing customer relationships they have, but they should do their customers a favour and send them to a network integrator," he said. 'We're looking to exploit those existing relationships.'

Saupin and his two brothers, Jacques and Gilbert, spearhead the new specialist network integrator, which officially launched with a private screening for customers, partners and news media of the final movie of the Wachowski brothers' sci-fi action series, The Matrix: Revolutions, in Sydney's North Ryde on Thursday, 6 November.

Saupin said Matrix CNI would adopt a multi-vendor approach to what were expected to be next year's networking hot buttons -- wireless, wireless security and IP telephony and specialise in emerging verticals such as healthcare and education.

The three Saupin brothers, who hail from different IT industry backgrounds, had been working on building relationships since operations began in May, with a range of system integrator, vendor and customer contacts gleaned from 15 years of previous industry involvement, he said.

"We're not picking any particular vendor and targeting their marketplace, but have customers coming out of traditional PBX to IP telephony. We're partnering with Mitel as a product we sell. If you look at other countries, Cisco and Mitel are number one and number two in IP telephony,'" Saupin said.

Although the company wasn't specifically targeting any other vendors or channel players' business, Matrix CNI had found synergies with Mitel in particular, he said.

"Mitel's approach is much the same as ours. Let's not just look at what customers want, do they want the technology for technology's sake, but look at the business requirements of that customer," Saupin said.

Matrix CNI had also taken on a wireless Vocera communications device distributed by Logical Solutions, which Saupin claimed had done 'very well' in hospitals overseas. The device enables staff wearing the device in range of a WLAN to talk to each other either individually or in a group without disturbing other activities or people in the area.

"We have also been talking to Regal IT and a number of others [about deals]," Saupin said.

Matrix CNI has moved its 10 staff into an office in Artarmon on Sydney's North Shore.