Maginus to host IT for Co- operative’s on line electricals

July 23, 2009, Manchester – Co-operatives E Store Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operative Group, trading as The Co-operative Electrical, offering a wide range of electrical products on-line, has selected a hosted IT solution from Maginus, expert providers of integrated software solutions for multi-channel retail & distribution companies, to reduce IT costs and increase efficiency.

Co-operatives E Store needed to replace its existing servers, which were approaching the end of their viable lifecycle. Maginus had already supplied its ERP and e-commerce solution to the company, and after careful evaluation of the market, Co-operatives E Store decided to select Maginus’s Hosted IT solution. This will provide robust hosting that is fully managed, with a secure back-up, and if required, fast accurate recovery.

Diane Porter, Head of Operations, Co-operatives E Store, said, “We decided that utilising the Maginus Hosted IT solution would perfectly fulfil our current requirements and provide future capacity for expansion. The variable bandwidth availability that this solution offers us is also beneficial in allowing us to cope with seasonal sales peaks. We work with Maginus as the provider of our business management ERP system, and as we enjoy an excellent relationship with them in this regard, and the Hosted IT solution they offered clearly fitted our needs, selecting Maginus was a logical decision.”

Maginus will also be providing Co-operatives E Store with a Managed Service, looking after all its hardware requirements. This will mean that Maginus looks after all the challenges of IT, leaving the company to concentrate on its business. This service will include; security, patching, back ups, performance monitoring and tuning, pro-active maintenance and issues management.

Co-operatives E Store will be replacing its old hardware, moving to new technology with no capital outlay. The company will benefit from technology investment in the future, as Maginus runs a continuous hardware replacement cycle.

Porter added, “The flexibility of the system will be a driver for allowing future developments to be progressed efficiently and simply. It was important that the deployment met with our ethical values and principles. Cost savings will come from the reduced investment in new technology, a reduction in management time and overhead costs, but critically, our energy consumption will also decrease by using modern, greener technology. On the new platform we’ll be 40-50% more energy efficient, which will be a great result.”

Simon Dunleavy, Director of Managed Services, Maginus, said, “By re-platforming into new hardware within the Maginus data centre, Co-operatives E Store will be enjoying a scalable solution, so the company can easily manage future business growth. The platform is highly resilient, delivering a infrastructure with enhanced efficiency and superior performance. They will also have all the benefits of Hosting IT – only paying for the hardware capabilities as they need them, and crucially, be provided with platform that will facilitate future business growth.”

The project has already commenced, and the transfer of the current hosting to Maginus will be completed by mid August 2009.


About The Co-operative Electrical

The Co-operative Electrical offers a wide range of products representing value for money. The product range has been developed by including only renowned manufacturers offering quality products. . The Co-operative Electrical only includes market leaders within its product range to ensure that customers are purchasing a product that will be reliable and provide excellent service.
The Co-operative Electrical prides itself on its commitment to delivering the highest standard of customer service to all its customers.


www.coopelectricalshop.co.uk

Contact Information

Matthew Ward

Head of Marketing

The Co-Operative Group

Contact via E-mail