Marque Group Solutions

As a first step, one of Node4’s consultants produced detailed technical reports outlining proposed Azure environments for the two relevant MGS businesses. Node4’s team then hosted a series of workshops with key MGS stakeholders to explore public cloud migration strategies for both companies.  

“We didn’t want to create an Azure environment that just duplicated what we had in AWS, and we didn’t want to simply lift and shift everything from our on-premises environment into the cloud,” Nathan emphasises. “The idea was to be pragmatic about our cloud consumption and ensure each application was in its optimal location. The industry is full of stories about businesses having to repatriate applications from their public cloud environments, and we were determined it would not happen to us. If an application didn’t belong in the cloud, and there wasn’t a compelling case for moving it, we wouldn’t put it there just for the sake of it.”  

The head office and distribution centre originally operated from a single site, but in 2011, Footasylum moved the distribution centre to a new location approximately four miles from its head office. In 2012, a third unit was added, meaning Footasylum could better support the added distribution demands of future growth.

Footasylum’s previous supplier wasn’t equipped to cope with their growth demands, and they knew they needed to look elsewhere. It was imperative for them to find a connectivity provider that could deliver high-speed broadband between all main central sites, but also get a high number of stores up and running with broadband in a short space of time. Node4 was able to provide a high-quality solution with the necessary level of technical expertise and support. 

Footasylum was established in 2005 and now covers over 60 high-street stores across the UK. The retailer has made its name as a leading brand selling fashion streetwear and sportswear.

From an IT perspective, Footasylum needed high-speed connectivity across each of its retail sites, a head office and two distribution centres based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

“Our contact centre handles around 10,000 calls each week,” explains Gareth Wemyss, Contact Centre Manager at TMTI. “Customers might get in touch because they don’t know how to operate a new device or if they’ve lost the instruction manual for an older appliance. We also deal with more complex issues like software updates or faulty components.”
He continues: “Agents can fix over 80% of customer issues over the phone. This means we play an important role in helping our clients maintain higher margins while protecting the environment by reducing the likelihood of goods ending up in landfill.”