Customer Story - Notcutts
Since 1897, Notcutts has grown into one of the UK's leading garden retailers, with 19 garden centres nationwide and a reputation built on quality, expertise and customer experience. As the business has scaled, so too has its reliance on technology to keep every site running smoothly.
Find out how Notcutts partnered with TalkTalk Business to overhaul their network infrastructure, from the challenges that prompted change to the impact it's had across the business.
The Challenge#
Notcutts' existing MPLS network had served them well, but was built on ageing infrastructure that hadn't kept pace with how the business had evolved. As connectivity demands grew, bandwidth was becoming a constraint, one that risked making future projects harder to deliver. The secondary failover wasn't fit for purpose either, leaving stores exposed when they could least afford it.
With the industry-wide retirement of the copper network on the horizon, Notcutts chose to get ahead of the curve rather than wait for the problem to force their hand.
The Solution#
Notcutts had worked with TalkTalk Business for nearly a decade, but with a project of this scale, it was right to test the market. Other providers pushed technology that wasn't the right fit.
TalkTalk Business listened, shaped a solution around Notcutts' specific needs and recommended staying with a proven MPLS approach — upgraded to enterprise-grade, high bandwidth primary connections with a full failover secondary. The service wraparound gave Notcutts the confidence they needed, from project delivery through to ongoing support.
The Outcome#
All 19 sites and the support office were migrated with zero downtime — no small feat for a retail business that simply cannot afford to have tills go dark. The network is no longer a bottleneck.
If the primary connection fails, the secondary takes over seamlessly. New projects reliant on internet connectivity can now proceed without competing for bandwidth, and the IT team are freed up to focus on innovation rather than firefighting.
"The key difference for me was that the project always felt like it was a single group focused on delivery. It always felt like we were working as one team, not battling with a supplier.
"Many providers can understand an organisation at a surface level, but that deeper, intrinsic knowledge of our business is what really sets TalkTalk Business apart."
Andy King, Head of IT, Notcutts.
Want to hear it in their own words? Watch Andy King talk through the challenge, the solution and the difference it's made. Watch the case study here.
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