by Divina Paredes

Retailer Kathmandu moves to AWS cloud

News
Jun 03, 20152 mins
Cloud ComputingInnovationRetail Industry

Outdoor and adventure gear company Kathmandu is moving its web infrastructure to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) cloud.

Kathmandu looked for an alternative provider following a sale event that resulted in poor online customer experience.

James Deane, web development manager at Kathmandu, says the retailer worked with Fronde on the migration.

The move allowed Kathmandu to scale its web infrastructure to meet system demands, saving crucial funds and providing the time to innovate.

“Our online store is the largest and most important of our retail sites,” explains Deane.

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“Now with Fronde and AWS, the capacity of our servers grow and shrink automatically. As the website receives more traffic, the servers can scale to meet demand. The benefit for the customer is they always get a great online experience. The benefit for us is that we only pay for servers when we need them.”

As the website receives more traffic, the servers can scale to meet demand. James Deane, Kathmandu

Kathmandu’s previous system could handle the traffic generated on 345 days of the year, but sales stretched capacity. The company was paying a flat-rate for peak requirements, which they needed only 20 days of the year.

James Valentine, chief technology officer Fronde, says that the move to the AWS cloud has allowed the web team at Kathmandu to focus on innovation and improving customer experience.

“We provide the infrastructure and take away all the mundane heavy lifting such as provisioning servers, so the online team can focus on providing an awesome customer experience,” he says.

Kathmandu has more than 150 bricks and mortar stores across New Zealand, Australia and the UK, selling clothing and equipment for adventure travel.

Send news tips and comments to divina_paredes@idg.co.nz

Follow Divina Paredes on Twitter: @divinap

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