“Because SQL Server 2008 R2 is so scalable, we can expand from 6 million to 20 million members for 10 percent of what it would have cost on our old solution.” Chris Sproston, Head of Software Development, the Co-operative Group To support growth and simplify innovation, the Co-operative Group replaced its Oracle customer management system with a solution based on Microsoft data warehousing technology for strong support and interoperability. The solution reduces the cost of the company’s growth plans by tens of millions of dollars, simplifies reporting and development, and improves the security of customer information. Business Needs The Co-operative Group, a member- owned company, operates retail stores and provides financial and other services. The company returns a share of members’ expenditures to them each year. As a result, members are more likely than nonmembers to take advantage of Co- operative Group services, so the company considers expanding its membership base to be its most promising path to growth. Since 2007, membership has grown from 3 million to 6 million, and the company has a target of 20 million members by 2020. Achieving this goal with its previous membership system—an Oracle solution, hosted by a provider that charged per member—would have cost the Co- operative Group tens of millions of dollars. This cost, combined with the solution’s unwieldy reporting and development tools, would have limited the company’s flexibility and blocked its goal of uniting its retail and financial businesses. “It would have been financial suicide if we had tried to use the existing solution to accomplish our growth goals,” says Chris Sproston, the Head of Software Development at the Co-operative Group. “There were also huge costs associated with changes, so the business was limited in what it could prototype.” It was also difficult for employees to obtain useful information from the solution, and the company wanted more control over security. “New reports or queries needed IT intervention, which was a bottleneck for the rest of the business,” says Sproston. “Security is a huge consideration for us, so we wanted access to strong tools.” To support its aggressive growth goals, the Co-operative Group decided to implement an in-house data management solution with strong scalability and sophisticated reporting, development, and security tools. Solution The Co-operative Group chose Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 data management software. “We use Microsoft technologies for all of our internal solutions,” says Sproston. “Their strong interoperation really simplifies our work.” The Co-operative Group worked with HCL Infosystems to develop the new solution, which went live in June 2011. The solution stores account information, records transaction data, calculates incentive payments, and supports web-based self- service account management. The solution holds 650 gigabytes of data and includes an 850-million-row table that is growing by 30 million rows monthly. With SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services and Report Builder 3.0, employees Customer: The Co-operative Group Website: www.co-operative.coop Customer Size: 110,000 employees Country or Region: United Kingdom Industry: Retail and distribution Partner: HCL Infosystems Partner Website: www.hclinfosystems.in Customer Profile The Co-operative Group, one of the world’s largest member-owned businesses, operates 5,000 retail stores and has annual revenues of U.S.$21.3 billion. Solution Spotlight Avoids tens of millions of dollars in growth costs. Can scale from 6 million to 20 million members while strengthening security of customer data. Helps IT team drive innovation and bring new services to market. Extends BI tools to 13,000 employees. For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/casestudies Microsoft SQL Server Customer Solution Case Study Retailer Avoids Tens of Millions in Growth Costs, Eases Innovation, and Boosts Security