07 March 2018

As well as its food retail business, Midcounties Co-operative also offers products from industries that are heavily regulated, such as energy and healthcare.

Midcounties Co-operative has chosen Six Degrees to manage and host all of its IT services and data. 

Warwickshire-headquartered Midcounties Co-operative has a diverse retail portfolio in the Midlands that includes food, healthcare, funeral care and the post office. It also offers energy, healthcare and childcare products which are heavily regulated. 

Six Degrees now hosts all of the society’s IT services, as well as the primary instance of its data, in its Birmingham South data centre. The company says security and management of the colocated data is also provided to ensure that Midcounties Co-operative meets compliance legislation.

Aaron Clayton, deputy CIO at the Midcounties Co-operative, says Six Degrees has the relevant certification to ensure that data is properly and legally, managed and protected. “Our partnership with them not only provides us with complete assurance, but also the freedom to focus on achieving our core business objectives.”

Six Degrees says all of its data centres are ISO 27001 accredited and PCI DSS certified. According to Nick Marshall, the firm’s head of data and colocation, this gives Midcounties Co-operative the assurance that their data is secure.

He goes on to claim that a separate IT environment increases security for the company. “Midcounties Co-operative has a dedicated pod contained in a branded, locked area – essentially its own data centre in its own space and environment, within the Six Degrees building.”