Fashion retailer Monsoon has signed up Tiscali, Avaya and integrator Corporate Communications to overhaul its communications network.
The project will combine voice and data communications over one broadband ADSL network, using the popular Internet Protocol (IP) system, which supports a move to Java at the point of sale.
Previously, Monsoon ran a till system that was polled once a night using standard public switched telephone network (PSTN) services. The plan is to set up a virtual private network (VPN) - an infrastructure that is as robust as a dedicated network, but is shared with other Tiscali customers.
'We were moving to a Java- based system, which needs constant dialogue between at least one till and the HQ,' said Monsoon/Accessorize IT director Dave Metcalfe. 'Using a PSTN for that would be too slow and too costly. We wanted a VPN because it was cheaper than a fixed link.'
The benefits are yet to be realised, but the retailer hopes to improve the time taken to receive credit card validations.
'Before, tills were taking more than 30 seconds to get card validations,' said Metcalfe. 'We hope to get that to less than three seconds.'
Monsoon has 300 shops running 550 tills, and the expansion of the store estate was the main driver for the EPoS review.
'In the future we will consider running the intranet out to shops - previously they were islands of independence,' said Metcalfe.
'We will also be setting up a pilot to extend voice-over IP across the store network,' he added.
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