Thomas Cook is using a relatively unknown web-hosting company to integrate its e-commerce operations across Europe despite a long-standing IT services deal with global management consultancy Accenture.
Thomas Cook enlists CatN in hosting deal
Thomas Cook is using a relatively unknown web-hosting company to integrate its e-commerce operations across Europe despite a long-standing IT services deal with global management consultancy Accenture.
UK-based CatN began working with Thomas Cook early last year and has taken over hosting the group’s e-commerce operations across western Europe.
The operations had been scattered across seven data centres.
CatN head of products Joe Gardiner told IT news site ComputerWorldUK: “We completed the .com migration [for Thomas Cook] just before Christmas last year.”
Thomas Cook had well-publicised problems with its UK online operation at the start of this year and has struggled to rationalise IT systems inherited from different companies.
Gardiner said CatN’s relationship with Cook “started with a very small development environment. Then it just kept growing until we were hosting all of their development stuff. Then we won some of their EU sites.”
Thomas Cook Online head of infrastructure Lee Pritchard told ComputerWorldUK: “CatN has helped us achieve our consolidation objectives very quickly taking advantage of the best technologies available.
“We no longer need to over-spend on unnecessary and expensive hardware requirements.”
Growth in Thomas Cook’s online business is among the key targets of new chief executive Harriet Green.
