Today Telstra launched the Telstra Apps Marketplace to provide its' business customers with a one-stop shop to find, buy, and use today's best business apps, as new research indicates that 75 per cent of small businesses are spending up to $1000 each year on paper.

Telstra customers can use the new marketplace as a central hub to easily browse, buy and manage apps from a catalogue that includes two new strategic apps, Box and DocuSign. Box is a cloud file sharing and collaboration app that makes it easy to securely share and access files and documents, whether it's the latest invoice for a customer, a project proposal, or an important pitch presentation. With DocuSign businesses can quickly, easily and securely collect and transact information and electronically sign documents, on any compatible device.

Will Irving, Telstra Business Group Managing Director said, "The Telstra Apps Marketplace is designed to deliver a simple online experience for our customers that will take the complexity out of choosing and managing apps from different vendors, so they can find the right apps for their business."

Paper deluge: Aussie SMBs are wasting an estimated $608 million a year
The launch comes as new research released today reveals despite one in three small businesses using connected tablets and four out of five relying on smartphones for work, small businesses are still incredibly reliant on traditional paper based tools - with 75 per cent spending up to $1000 each year on paper.

"This research shows Australian businesses are not maximising their return on existing investments in their smartphone and tablets, and worse, in this digital era, still relying on paper based tools.

"While the humble pen and paper have served us well over many years, these days they usually represent a waste of time, as whatever is written has to be keyed into a computer later. Paper forms and documents are also very vulnerable to loss - whether they are simply misplaced, stolen or damaged."

The national survey of 1000 small business owners, found 92 per cent are using apps for personal use, yet only 24 per cent are using apps in their business - with 41 per cent in the dark about their existence entirely.

Mr Irving said the research findings indicate a clear "information gap" amongst Australia's small business community.

"As with our personal life, business apps take the hassle out of admin. Just like your banking app means no more queuing at your local branch, or using your tablet in place of a newspaper; business apps can replace forms and gather information in the field, execute and sign contracts without printing and then scanning them, or rid you forever of the old carbon copy invoice book."

The Telstra Apps Marketplace, powered by AppDirect, represents the start of the next generation of apps and initially features two apps which have recently received strategic investment from Telstra Ventures, Box and DocuSign. Additional apps will be added to the Telstra Apps Marketplace in coming months and ultimately will be home to all Telstra's preferred business apps.

Telstra's current platform, T-Suite Application, which launched in 2008 and now has more than 400,000 users, will continue to offer products including Microsoft Office365, Symantec, McAfee and more recent apps like ArisApp, Canvas and GeoOp.

Apps and customers on the T-Suite Application platform will be migrated to the Telstra Apps Marketplace early next year.

The Telstra Apps Marketplace can be found at: http://marketplace.telstra.com.

Media contact: Steve Carey, steve.carey@team.telstra.com



Reference Number: 211/2014

distributed by