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Optician chooses Progress FUSE for open source support for its mission-critical messaging backbone

Optician chooses Progress FUSE for open source support for its mission-critical messaging backbone

 

Specsavers, the UK optician chain, has signed a three-year contract for consultancy and support of its Progress FUSE open source applications.

 

The relationship will provide the software stability SpecSavers needs to provide excellent service to its current stores and support its growth plans, according to the support provider.

 

Progress will provide the support, development tools and expertise required to ensure the ongoing success of the second version of Specsavers’ open source-based Messaging Backbone solution.

 

Progress’ team will support the 100 in-house developers at Specsavers, based in Southampton in the UK, as they provide the software used at the optician chain’s 1,400 stores. Progress will also provide access to key developers who are active in the open source community developing the solution Specsavers uses.

 

Managing mission-critical operations

 

Specsavers’ Messaging Backbone enables sales information to be shared in real-time between the stores and its Guernsey-based headquarters. Information is exchanged between three central locations as well as from all the cash registers in stores across the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, the Nordics and Spain.

 

John Lister, chief information officer at Specsavers, said: “As an organisation that uses components of open source software within our retail operation, we needed a partner who understood both the demands of the dynamic business environment we operate in and our approach to high quality open software solutions, with enterprise level support. Progress can deliver this to very tight SLAs [service levels agreements] – a factor that is also important for our business as we continue with our ambitious global growth plans."

 

Paul Broekhoven, FUSE manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division, at Progress Software, commented: “Specsavers selected the FUSE product so that they can deploy a flexible, open source solution while knowing that there is an enterprise software company with a proven track record backing the solution, ensuring that it’s fully maintained, risk-free and is working as efficiently as possible. The FUSE product can deliver in the dynamically changing retail environment that they operate in, and scale to support the ambitious growth plans of the business.”