Reseller Nexus Open Systems is building a data network for Exeter City Council as the local authority strives to meet the government's online services deadline.

The high-speed local area network (Lan) will support 1,100 staff and help the internal IT infrastructure to handle the increased workflow expected from e-government.

The council's existing Lan was unable to cope with the additional strains expected to result from the availability of web-based services. Exeter anticipates that over 110,000 citizens will access services via the internet.

Nexus explained that it is using its strong relationship with Nortel Networks to win business in the growing local government sector.

The reseller, which also works with Hewlett Packard, Cisco and Microsoft, claimed that its multi-vendor knowledge helped it win business in the public sector.

"The government's move to web-enable everything is taking it into a new standard and it requires partners with multiple skills and experience," said Darren Sculley, commercial director at Nexus.

He suggested that selling into this market requires a different approach with more targeted products.

"Government decision makers don't want the cheapest or most expensive system, but the most appropriate," he said, claiming that the reseller is winning public sector deals on a monthly basis.

Nexus will provide technical support backed up by Nortel and will use its skills in software management, security and storage to provide integration.

Peter Finter, director of enterprise solutions, EMEA, at Nortel, explained that the public sector is an area of focus for the convergence networking vendor.

"We are ensuring that we have the right set of products to help local government meet their e-targets and we are utilising our own direct sales resources to help our reseller partners identify projects," he said.

Finter added that Nortel is contacting local authorities directly and attending events in an effort to generate business for resellers.