ZEBRAHOSTS AND SUMO - A Force To Be Reckoned With

Newcastle based data centre ZebraHosts is leaving its competition ‘out for the count’ after joining forces with another North East heavy weight.

ZebraHosts, has been providing its server hosting services to leading graphic design consultancy SUMO for some time, but recently the two companies have thrown their combined skills into the ring in an effort to provide their joint-expertise to a range of clients.

One of the first clients to benefit from the design and hosting services supplied by the two companies is the region’s most established listings and entertainment magazine, The Crack.

The magazine was looking to launch an interactive online version, where visitors from the region and beyond could read news and reviews as well as creating their own listings, which once content was checked by the team at The Crack, would be uploaded onto the site.

The Crack Publisher Helen Collard said, “We wanted a site where much of the content was driven by the visitors, and instead of being a simple online version of the magazine was stand alone, carrying additional editorial to the magazine. The site also drives the content of the magazine itself – we found visitors online kept us up to date quicker and therefore the content is much more timely.”

The site which was designed by Sumo, is attracting 30,000 unique visitors a month, with peak time viewing being between 2/3pm Monday to Friday.  It is also attracting growing numbers of subscribers, with current numbers at approx. 2000 from across the UK.

One of the major challenges for hosting specialists Zebra was the migration of the magazines database to be used by the online version – a job which Helen was dreading as she explains,

“The database was huge and we were all daunted at the prospect of migrating it from its previous format to something which could be used for online distribution. Zebra technicians provided fantastic support helping us every step of the way and literally took the headache right out of it, resulting in a useable database compatible with emarketing tools.”

The site has been so successful that it is already undergoing more development, with the addition of a ticketing system enabling visitors to locate a gig and then book their tickets online.

Belinda Kent, Strategic Account Director added, “Working with SUMO on this project has been very rewarding; bringing our skills together in this way enables us to offer clients increased solutions ultimately improving the services we provide.”

ZebraHosts which offers services including server hosting, network planning and design, data management and storage, co-location and security consultancy, has been in business for seven years and boasts a client list including The Ambulance Service, Imass and Enigma Interactive.