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JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as JD Sports, has modernised its telephony network with the support of Maintel, the UK leader in cloud and managed communication services.
JD Sports chose its long-term partner Maintel to upgrade to a modern future-proof telephony system to help maintain connectivity across its European store network.
The company needed to upgrade its Unified Communications infrastructure due to an aging IT set-up and an ever-expanding international store network, with a number of new store premises needing to be incorporated into its network.
The solution utilises JD Sports’ VPN cloud connectivity to enable colleagues to communicate via video, audio, and web conferencing links. By using Maintel’s enterprise-class Unified Communications as a Service solution, ICON Communicate, JD Sports has been able to improve telephony services across its European store estate with a modern cloud-based unified communications infrastructure.
JD Sports is a sports-fashion retail company headquartered in Bury, Lancashire, England with shops throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia. It has over 50 high street brands under its umbrella including sports brands such as JD Sports, Footpatrol, Sprinter, and Sport Zone, premium fashion brands such as Scotts and Tessuti, along with outdoor retailers Blacks, Millets, Go Outdoors, and Ultimate Outdoors.
Barry Loftus, Group IT Director, JD Sports, said: “Maintel speaks our language and has been our preferred IT supplier for more than 20 years, almost from the very start of our company. We see Maintel as an extension of our team, they understand our business and really care about what they are providing and brings real added value to every project delivered. The network is the heart and soul of everything we do - we wanted therefore to provide real retail theatre and we can only do this with an appropriate network. Maintel has helped provide this with the latest upgrade to our European wide store communications network – an update we felt was vital for us, as it gives all of our staff an easy way to collaborate, whilst also providing us with the flexibility that will enable the company to adapt to the rapidly changing retail sector.”
Simon Ward, Group Sales and Marketing Director at Maintel, commented: “Since first partnering with JD Sports two decades ago, the company has constantly aimed to evolve so that it can provide the very best environment for both its staff and customers alike. With thousands of employees around the world, it was vital that JD Sports could use the most modern cloud-based Unified Communication links to bring colleagues together simply and easily. Now, JD Sports employees can join on video conferencing calls, webchats, email or instant messaging links, wherever they are in the world.”
JD Sports now plans to use Maintel to upgrade to an SD-WAN network, enabling the IT department to control everything centrally, at the touch of a button. SD-WAN will provide JD Sports with the connectivity to take advantage of the latest 5G technology. It will also help the company improve its omnichannel offering and personalise its in-store solutions.
