Fusepoint wins gold with Whistler.com; awarded managed hosting and IT services contract for travel and Olympic destination site
23 February 2004
TORONTO/VANCOUVER, Feb. 23 /CNW/ - Fusepoint Managed Services today announced it has been selected by Whistler.com, Whistler's most comprehensive destination travel site, to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of fully managed IT and hosting services.
Under the agreement, Fusepoint ensures the security, availability and performance of Whistler.com's mission critical online e-business and reservation system. Fusepoint fully manages all components of Whistler.com's IT infrastructure, including its hardware, operating systems and database applications. Fusepoint also hosts Whistler.com's web and email servers in its state-of-the-art Vancouver data centre.
"Fusepoint has, in short order, become a seamless extension of our operations," said Chad Nantais, Manager, Information Systems, Whistler.com Systems, Inc. "With increased interest in the resort since winning the Olympic bid, we have to support higher loads on our server. Fusepoint's service has been consistently timely, responsive and beyond the scope of what I expected in a managed services provider. The performance of our web server has increased significantly."
This early-year win follows a strong 2003, which saw Fusepoint's revenue grow by 115 per cent. Further, as a result of both strong direct and channel partner program sales, Fusepoint's customer base jumped as leading organizations entrust Fusepoint to safeguard the security, performance, and availability of their IT infrastructures and critical data.
"The events of 2003 served as a C-level wake up call throughout corporate Canada," said Robert Offley, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fusepoint Managed Services. "As a result, downtime is perceived as much more than a simple inconvenience - it's a money-loser, a reputation crippler, and a customer-killer."
Many Canadian small- and mid-sized businesses have traditionally opted to manage IT operations internally. Many now realize that strategic and selective outsourcing with a trusted IT services provider is their most viable and cost- effective option for proactively safeguarding the security, performance, and availability of their critical data and overall IT infrastructure.
"Fusepoint offers us clear competitive advantages by freeing our staff to work exclusively on higher-level operation and development projects - such as an advanced reservations system - while our infrastructure is managed by industry leading technical experts," Whistler.com's Nantais added.
"Fusepoint understands that a one-size-fits-all method to outsourcing isn't what organizations want," Offley continued. Our approach creates customized managed IT solutions - at affordable price points - that give customers the critical services and support they need, when they need it. The market is growing, yet migrating toward a utility-based computing model, or 'apps-on-tap', approach."
Indeed, IDC Canada valued the 2003 Canadian systems infrastructure service provider (SISP) market at C$409 million and predicts it will grow by approximately 13 percent per year to reach C$680 million by 2007. This number spirals significantly higher when application, content and business services are added into the fold.
About Whistler.comWhistler.Com is Whistler's fastest growing online destination company, offering complete Whistler vacation solutions to people around the world. As Whistler's only locally operated source for reservations and in-resort information, Whistler.com provides customers with the highest quality service.
Whistler.Com develops and operates state-of-the-art reservations software that processes end-to-end electronic travel sales. This software uses Customer Relationship Management to facilitate communication between customers, internal departments, and a network of vendors, while protecting all information with strong security and privacy policies. Developing software in- house allows Whistler.Com to respond to the rapidly evolving habits of online travelers.
About Fusepoint Managed ServicesFusepoint Managed Services provides a complete range of managed services that support web and e-commerce sites, intranets, extranets, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and disaster recovery. Fusepoint offers solutions that deliver bottom-line results for its clients - as measured by improved cash flow, reduced staffing costs and increased revenue. Fusepoint's cost-efficient managed services include firewall protection, intrusion detection, data storage and back up, load balancing and monitoring. Founded in 1999, Fusepoint is a privately held company with offices and data centres in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. Visit Fusepoint online at www.fusepoint.com.
