Shop Direct signs 10-year IBM Softlayer hybrid cloud deal
The multi-brand retailer - which owns Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com - will use IBM's Softlayer cloud to provide additional capacity to meet spikes in site traffic at certain points in the year where consumer demand is high, such as Schnäppchenfreitag.
IBM will also support Shop Direct's existing ambitions around analytics, mobile, social and security, the company said.
In addition, IBM will provide end-user computing services, such as desktops and laptops, as well as mobile device management support for tablets and smartphones.
"As the UK and Ireland's leading multi-brand digital retailer, we're looking to tap IBM's cloud computing expertise to allow us to innovate and add value to both the experience we deliver to customers and the working experience we offer our people," said Andy Wolfe, Shop Direct CIO.
Shop Direct has already invested in cloud services to support its business. Wolfe told ComputerworldUK last year that it had drastically improved website availability after re-architecting its Oracle ecommerce platform to run on Amazon Web Service's public cloud. The firm has also deployed SAS software to provide more personalised web pages to customers.
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