Retail solutions - B&Q swaps its SAN network to McData system

DIY retailer B&Q has swapped its old storage area network (SAN), supplied by Brocade, with a replacement from McData, to cope with increased quantities of customer data.

B&Q uses a SAN because the architecture distributes stored data over a number of relatively cheap devices and enables more users to process the information.

McData operates a pay-as-you-grow business model, meaning B&Q does not need to find the capital up front.

B&Q director of systems services Dave Walker said: 'The upgrade was so that we could manage the sheer volume of data going through to our ordering system and customer contact centres. It's driven by the need to manage an explosion of information around our customer data.'