Allied consolidates shop servers
Carpet retailer reduces its servers from 222 to just three to lower costs and in-store support
Retailer Allied Carpets has installed thin-client terminals in its shops allowing it to consolidate its servers, improve customer service and speed up transactions and stock control.
The company has reduced the one server held in each of its 222 shops to just two across its whole estate with a third acting as a back-up, significantly reducing in-store hardware support.
The company says the reduction of servers and centralisation of its back-up systems will generate savings of about £70,000 a year in electricity costs alone.
It has also reduced ordering and purchasing times by 50 per cent and introduced online stock-taking processes at all its outlets.
Allied Carpets IT manager Ken Moss expects the technology to generate a return on investment within three years.
‘It has improved customer service through a new servicing application and procedures, faster performance of transactions and higher quality management information,’ Moss said.
Moss says the system will serve as a platform for modernisation such as controlled email/internet access, mobile access to tills and real-time access to data.
‘We will consolidate further head-office equipment using virtualisation technology, add more central functionality for stores and corporate customers and improve our management information systems,’ he said.
‘Another planned extension is a move towards exchange of data electronically with our corporate customers.’
The project is being managed by IBM and business partner Panacea Services and started with a seven-shop pilot last year.
Datamonitor analyst Martin Atherton says estate management is increasingly important.
‘It is becoming a bigger issue because of the increasing cost of electricity or cooling, and consolidation of servers and data centres is a worthwhile stance,’ he said. ‘It is also an example of the IT department making a strateg ic contribution to the business.’
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