Domino's Pizza Selects Rackspace's Hybrid Cloud Hosting Solution

With over 660 stores, Domino's is one of the largest pizza delivery companies in the UK and Ireland. Key to its success is a multi-channel retail strategy, which generated a 63 percent increase in online revenues in 2010. To help further drive this growth, Domino's has sought a hosting service that would meet the evolving demands of its online business, and allow its internal IT team to focus less on the maintenance of its online properties and business applications, and more on innovation.

The pizza delivery company has selected UK’s cloud computing service provider Rackspace Hosting to provide them with RackConnect, an integrated cloud hosting and dedicated managed hosting service. The service will give Domino's a scalable and cost-effective platform that will support the execution of the company's ambitious growth strategy.

In a statement, Colin Rees, Domino's IT director, said, “In 2010, over a third of our UK delivered orders were taken online, so having a reliable hosting solution is essential to our continued success. I knew that we needed to outsource our hosting infrastructure if we were to remain on our current growth trajectory and keep improving our customer experience. We wanted the best of both worlds, though: the high level of security and configurability that dedicated managed hosting affords a business, and the scalability of cloud hosting. Rackspace's (News - Alert) RackConnect solution ticks all these boxes, and more.”

According to Rackspace, RackConnect will enable Domino's to select which applications are placed where in the managed hosting infrastructure. For example, applications that require a high level of security, such as an internal email system, can be hosted on dedicated physical hardware. Additionally, said the service provider, Domino's will also be able to take advantage of the on-demand scalability of The Rackspace Cloud for developing new smartphone or tablet applications, or handling the demands of a digital marketing campaign.

In another statement, David Kelly, Rackspace's SVP International commented, “Domino's Pizza is paving the way when it comes to effective e-commerce and engaging with customers online in a wide variety of ways, such as through social media or smartphone and tablet apps. It's a thrill for us to be working with such a consistently innovative and successful company. The fact that Domino's Pizza has chosen our game-changing RackConnect service highlights a common need amongst businesses for a hybrid hosting platform that offers them more flexibility, among other benefits.”

Domino's new hosting platform is expected to go live in September. Hosted applications will include the public-facing e-commerce site www.dominos.co.uk , as well as the online payment gateway, corporate email and back-office systems, and the company intranet.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.