NEON selects Aptum to enhance its retail and e-commerce platforms

NEON selects Aptum to enhance its retail and e-commerce platforms

Aptum, a global hybrid multi-cloud managed service provider, has announced it has partnered with NEON, a turnkey e-commerce platform and retail solutions provider, to transition its IT infrastructure to Microsoft Azure Cloud, boosting NEON’s scalability and augmenting its IT security. Randy Laporte, Vice President E-Commerce and Digital Marketing, NEON, tells Intelligent SME.tech more about the partnership.

NEON provides e-commerce platform build services including order fulfilment and management, customer service, marketing services, hosting and cybersecurity. The company wanted to shift to a managed cloud solution that would allow it to maintain its business growth and efficiently add new clients to its e-commerce platforms.

The company turned to Aptum for support. Aptum assisted NEON in making the transition to Azure with its Azure Design and Build, Azure Managed Services and Aptum Managed Web Application Firewall (WAF). Aptum used its Professional Services expertise to optimise NEON’s e-commerce platforms for the Azure environment and provided enhanced security through a Managed Detection and Response solution. NEON also benefits by leveraging Aptum’s many security certifications, including enabling PCI DSS, helping the company meet its compliance and governance requirements.

“Aptum’s managed cloud and security expertise allowed us to make a smooth transition from our hosted model to hyperscale Azure,” said Randy Laporte, Vice President E-Commerce and Digital Marketing, NEON. “We enjoy working with Aptum because it has knowledgeable experts who are able to provide technology-agnostic advice.”

“We pride ourselves on being able to adapt to meet our customers’ needs and offer tailored solutions that fit their specific requirements,” said Leigh Plumley, Aptum’s Chief Revenue Officer. “Through our managed hybrid and multi-cloud solutions and our unique Data-as-Infrastructure approach, we help customers like NEON get the most value from its technology investments.”

With Aptum’s managed services, NEON was able to make a seamless switch to Azure, optimise performance and protect its e-commerce platforms. The company is now able to grow its business quickly in a highly secure environment, while improving the experience for its partners.

Laporte told Intelligent SME.tech more about how NEON has benefitted from the solution.

What prompted you to want to shift to a managed cloud solution?

NEON, which has been in business since ’83, is all about its well-built infrastructure, refined over time, from head to toe. It’s our smooth and streamlined logistics that allow us to successfully own and operate turnkey e-commerce platforms and retail solutions for fashion and footwear brands in Canada.
Because we provide e-commerce platform build services like order fulfilment and management, customer service, marketing services, hosting and cybersecurity, we’ve seen a rapid increase in demand throughout the pandemic. We needed to shift to a managed cloud solution that would allow us to maintain our business growth and seamlessly add new partners on to our platforms. We also needed something that would provide scalability and longevity, yet was cost-efficient and high performance. Aptum ticked all the boxes.

Why did you choose Aptum?

We have been long-time customers of Aptum – actually a better word to use is partners. Our partnership started in 2010, when Aptum was operating as Peer 1. We enjoy working with Aptum because it has knowledgeable experts that are able to provide technology-agnostic advice.
Throughout the years, we’ve continued to grow and strengthen our partnership with Aptum as its people, behind the technology, understand our business. It proposes innovative, creative solutions that fit our particular needs, in a rapidly changing environment. Let’s face it – there are many great technology providers in the market. But, without the right people, it’s just tech. A managed service provider needs the right people to drive the technology, and that is what Aptum does best.

How important are Aptum’s security certifications?

Security is fundamental to the success of our business. Our customers’ demands are extensive with reason since cyberattacks and security threats have been exacerbated by the pandemic. We knew we needed to enhance security and ensure we weren’t just meeting our customers’ expectations but exceeding them.

Aptum’s managed cloud and security expertise allowed us to make a smooth transition from our legacy infrastructure to hyperscale Azure. Aptum used its professional services expertise to optimise our e-commerce platforms for the Azure environment and provided enhanced security through a managed detection and response solution. Aptum’s security certifications like PCI DSS are an added benefit that help us meet compliance and governance requirements.

With its security expertise and continued recommendations, we sleep a little better at night knowing our business, and our customers, are safe and secure.

How has the switch to Azure helped you to optimise performance?

With Aptum’s managed services, we were able to make a seamless switch to Azure, improve performance and better protect our e-commerce platforms. Our Technical Account Manager (TAM), customer experience team, alongside Aptum’s professional services team, support and analyse our complex infrastructures continuously to make recommendations to optimise server performance. This continual audit and analysis allows us to give our front-end customers the best experience possible.
It’s not just about optimising performance but about staying within budgets too. The Aptum team is aware that we need to be accountable for our tech expenditures. It helps us adjust resources for a cost-efficient model that will not deteriorate performance.

How has it helped protect your e-commerce platform?

Aptum adapted its recommendations for key security solutions and additional partners to our specific infrastructure needs and offered tailored solutions that fit all our requirements and more. Not only do we not have to worry about our data and its security, but with the consistent monitoring and analysis, we know we’re getting the most value from our technology investment.

How has the change meant that you are able to grow your business quickly?

Working together with its professional services team, we have developed a blueprint that standardises our deployments. Implementing this blueprint has allowed us to rapidly speed up our time to market, increase efficiency in our infrastructure management and reduce the onboarding time for new brands. The results have gone above and beyond what we expected. We are now able to grow our business rapidly, in a highly secure environment, while simultaneously improving the experience for our end-users. What more could we ask for from a partner?

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