Cinema operator Vue Entertainment has signed a new contract for hosted data services to cope with fluctuations in demand for its online and telephone booking services.

The company, which operates 54 cinemas across the UK, introduced new services at the end of the year, and has already handled record online sales thanks to the release of the latest Harry Potter film, when web traffic rose by 300 per cent.

IT director Roland Jones says the company’s previous hosted data contract was not cost-effective and could not provide sufficient service levels.

‘We were not satisfied with our hosting arrangement and the level of service that we had,’ said Jones. ‘We are selling a lot more tickets online than we were previously.’

Vue has signed a three-year agreement with vendor Rackspace, which allows the company to handle more traffic.

Steve Marshall, Vue’s IT operations manager, says the contract has also provided the company with access to better qualified technicians.

‘I now have access to a front-line technician who knows exactly what my issues are,’ he said.

‘There has been an increase in uptime and improved reliability and the key thing – user experience. It is a lot faster from the customer’s perspective.’