Microsoft Slovenia and S&T Slovenia contracted a EUR 3.5 million project with Mercator, one of the largest and leading store chains in South-Eastern Europe. It is even the largest transition to Microsoft cloud computing in CEE.

• Largest transition to public cloud in CEE
• Office 365 for more than 6,000 Mercator employees
• Reducing IT expenses

Microsoft Slovenia and S&T Slovenia contracted a EUR 3.5 million project with Mercator, one of the largest and leading store chains in South-Eastern Europe. It is even the largest transition to Microsoft cloud computing in CEE.

More than 6,000 employees in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia will work and communicate with Office 365 business solutions. The implementation involves Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Lync. The transition to Office 365 will be done by Microsoft Consulting Services professionals in cooperation with the partner company S&T Slovenia, one of the leading providers of comprehensive information technology solutions in Slovenia. It is planned to launch Office 365 in October 2012.

“Through Office 365, we will provide the users of our business operations in the region with uniform, standardized tools, establish improved connections among them and enable them to perform work with a greater efficiency”, says Melita Kolbezen, member of the Mercator management board.

Cost savings the biggest benefit

The implemented solution enables employees to cooperate and communicate region-wide by spending less time and effort in managing information infrastructure. Furthermore, it will enable Mercator to reduce costs of purchasing, implementing and managing own server and ensure full control of IT costs on the pay-as-you-go basis. This simplifies the predictability of expenses and regular costs adjustments to rapid changes to the needs and requirements of the business.

With the outsourcing of e-mail hosting and other functions Mercator modernizes, in cooperation with Microsoft and S&T, its network and workplaces in a cost-efficient manner and without purchases of own hardware.