Accenture and Telstra Enterprise and Government have forged a partnership to offer enterprise and government clients cloud computing services and facilities. Telstra's data centres will host client applications in a virtualized environment. Client applications will also be delivered through the IP network infrastucture of Telstra.

Accenture, on the other hand, will provide expertise in transitioning the existing applications from clients into the cloud. The company would also be responsible for providing ongoing support for applications from clients and implementing new applications in the cloud. The agreement is in effect in both Australia and New Zealand.

The companies signed an agreement in April, and have announced companies such Fulton Hogan and Stella Travel as clients. The companies claim that they have helped clients improve their productivity through the use of cloud computing.

Nerida Caesar, head of Telstra Enterprise and Government, said that the initiative has been met with a positive reception from consumers. "We have engaged in sessions with 150 customers in groups of about 12 at a time coming in where we have articulated this proposition to them and listened to their issues and concerns," Caesar said.

Steve Willis, Accenture Australia's managing director for communications and high tech, added: "We have six joint customers and 30 or 40 we are actively talking to, varying from fairly small implementations to the whole suite of applications."