Marks & Spencer will adopt a Microsoft XP-based network and wireless LAN system as it moves into its£300 mil-lion head office in Paddington this year.
The company is rolling out XP across all three buildings, including two existing sites - at 27 Baker Street and Stock-ley Park - which are due for refurbishment.
In an exclusive interview with Retail Week, Marks & Spencer IT director Stuart Senior outlined the drivers for the move.
'It will be all open plan, with a lot more hot-desking and a lot more mobile working,' said Senior. 'We'll be using wireless LAN and voice-over IP for telephony. Office applications will be Web-enabled. Just less than half of employees will be issued with laptops.'
Senior explained that IP-based telephony has reached the right level of resilience for retailers. He added that remote working over the Internet has also become a business- class service.
'We have done a trial of accessing systems over the Net,' he said. 'We've been wary of it in terms of security, but now we feel it is suffic-iently secure. It will open up different working models for people.'
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