Mar, 2004 : BT to Host Interflora's Order Processing

📅 March 16, 2004 - British Telecom (bt.com) announced on Tuesday that it will host the servers, operating system, network hardware and firewalls that support the central order processing and commercial business system of flower delivery network Interflora. BT is also providing 24-hour software and hardware maintenance and support. Exact financial details were not disclosed, but BT said the deal was worth seven figures.

Interflora's outsourcing of its order processing systems to BT is part of an IT upgrade designed to retain and support its growing market share.
"Over the past few years, competition in the flower relay space has increased dramatically with high street retailers and even supermarkets entering the market," says Rhys Hughes, finance director at Interflora. "To maintain our quality of service, competitive edge and particularly the ability to send flowers anywhere in the UK within three hours of an order being placed - our systems are of utmost importance. The new, real-time business system fitted the bill perfectly. However, we were unable to support it in-house. BT is one of the few providers we approached who was able to offer the necessary expertise and proven capability."
BT's proven track record in providing hosting to businesses with high spikes in seasonal traffic was a key selling point for Interflora.
"Interflora's e-business application is critical to maintaining competitiveness in the marketplace. Downtime during peak hours could cost the company significantly, not to mention the wider costs associated with damage to its brand and reputation," says Catherine Hawley, senior vice president of applications hosting at BT. "Interflora sought assurance that its hosting partner was solid as a rock in terms of reliability and financial stability. BT has been a key player in the hosting market for the last 20 years and this long-term commitment helped to provide this assurance."