With a rapidly growing operation in New Zealand, hardware retail chain Bunnings Warehouse needed its valuable ICT resources focussed on developing core systems, not "pottering around" with email systems and internet security.

Upgrading its existing system to cater for this growth would have required adding more servers, including additional back-up systems, to support an ever-increasing pool of people. The company decided doing this work in-house was not the best use of limited resources.

Bunnings implemented Gen-i's hosted Managed Mail email management system and Safecom range of cloud-based security services.

Managed Mail is Gen-i's complete email management offering, based on Microsoft Outlook, which gives users access to email from their desktop, laptop or mobile device.

All Bunnings email accounts are controlled by Managed Mail with Gen-i taking care of time-consuming but run-of-the-mill duties such as email archiving and spam filtering, while providing protection against email scams.

Safecom is Gen-i's hosted internet security service which provides protection from most web-based or email security threats.

Internet traffic from all of Bunnings' users is filtered through Safecom, giving the company a secure and reliable connection to the outside world.

Moving to a hosted environment has saved Bunnings the expense and effort of day-to-day management of its email and internet security environments.

It has also given the company all the benefits of around the clock support for its email and internet security, but at a predictable monthly fee.

The set costs of running Safecom and Managed Mail has helped Bunnings in its planning and forecasting, which is vital as it is still in an aggressive growth phase.