Whiteley: Onecom signs £1.2m deal with Co-operative retailer

Onecom has signed a £1.2 million deal with Central England Co-operative, one of the largest independent retailers in the UK, to provide internet connectivity and voice call services.

The two-year renewal agreement follows Onecom’s initial three-year contract in 2015 to provide network and call services to the Co-operative’s 250 food stores, 100-plus funeral homes, as well as its distribution centre in Leicester and head office in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

The new arrangement will see Onecom continue to provide those services while modernising the Co-operative’s systems. That task is already under way with the introduction of a state-of-the-art unified communications solution from key Onecom partner Mitel, now in operation across the Co-operative’s funerals estate.

James Bannister, solutions director at Onecom, said: “This new deal strengthens the relationship between Onecom and the Central England Co-operative and comes after a very productive three years, during which we have continuously evolved and developed the business’s provision in response to its need for a fast, secure, low latency network and reliable telephony across hundreds of lines.

“The successful delivery of this project over the last three years demonstrates Onecom’s expertise in developing and implementing unified communications solutions on a large scale. We are delighted to have renewed our relationship with Central England Co-operative and look forward to working closely with the business to keep its communications at the leading edge over the next two years."

Derrann Shimano, IT operations manager, Central England Co-operative, said: “Onecom’s expertise has brought huge benefits to the business over the last three years, delivering a step change in our technology and transforming the way our teams work. Our Account Development Manager, Lisa Hardaker, and the specialists at Onecom have worked closely with us to find the right solutions to suit our needs, and we look forward to continuing that productive relationship as we continue to thrive and grow.”

Onecom, which has headquarters in Whiteley, Hampshire, is the UK’s largest independent business telecommunications provider, operating from 10 regional offices, including Cardiff, Belfast, Southampton, Plymouth, Leeds, Telford, Norwich and Brighton.

The company currently manages over 325,000 mobile connections, delivering communication services and unified solutions across fixed line voice, connectivity and cloud computing to some of the UK’s most dynamic companies.