Amsterdam, July 2 2009 – Bol.com, the leading online media store in The Netherlands, has outsourced all technical application and infrastructure services to Schuberg Philis, leveraging the combined power of 100% availability of the bol.com website, extreme flexibility and full control of the underlying systems. Bol.com, the leading online media store in The Netherlands, has outsourced all technical application and infrastructure services to Schuberg Philis, leveraging the combined power of 100% availability of the bol.com website, extreme flexibility and full control of the underlying systems. As a result, bol.com is able to implement catalogue innovations with increased speed and add new functionality without compromising the availability of the website. Continuation of online sales is guaranteed at all times.

Last year bol.com sold more than 11 million products and served more than two million online customers. On December 1st sales reached an all time high with more than 80.000 items being sold in one day. Recent history over the last few years shows a steady fifty percent growth of sales in December.

Bol.com is dedicated to keep growing and – at the same time – maintain 100% availability for customers, increase speed of the website during busy times and implement innovations quickly. In July 2007, this high profile wish list resulted in the decision to outsource all technical application and infrastructure services. After consulting multiple traditional IT-outsourcing partners, bol.com chose to team up with Schuberg Philis, a highly specialized outsourcing partner for mission critical systems.

Daniel Ropers, Managing Director of bol.com: “The complete outsourcing process was completed in roughly one year. Our own IT specialists worked in close collaboration with the Schuberg Philis team. The migration from the old situation to the new situation was very complex. Furthermore, in the year the migration took place our sales steadily increased with 31 percent. Despite the complex outsourcing program, the increased growth continued without a hitch thanks to the dedicated approach of Schuberg Philis. The Schuberg Philis team was involved on all levels and actively contributed to improving service towards our customers. Outsourcing all technical and infrastructure services now enables us to innovate continuously. In short: Schuberg Philis is a real dedicated partner of bol.com. This company is actively thinking ahead, taking calculated risks in favor of her client and is extremely reliable.”

Huub Vermeulen, Director of Operations at bol.com, continues: “Our business relies on speedy order processing and providing customers with dynamic, attractive content. This challenges our back office infrastructure and the way we implement innovations. Schuberg Philis is a strategic partner that provides a stable environment. As a result we are now fully ready for many new developments. The partnership enables us to do what we do best: translating market demand to new (technical) solutions and creating new, effective marketing campaigns.”

Pim Berger, Managing Director of Schuberg Philis: “As the largest internet store in The Netherlands, the business of bol.com is strongly dependent on IT. The way our organisation works, with dedicated teams around the client and senior engineers at the frontlines, provides bol.com with 100% availibility and combines optimal control with unlimited flexibility.”

More information: www.bol.com and www.schubergphilis.com

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About Schuberg Philis
Schuberg Philis is an innovative private company and an important player in the field of mission critical outsourcing services. Schuberg Philis exclusively addresses company applications which require 24/7 availability and guarantees 100% uptime for such systems. Schuberg Philis the IT-auditable outsourcing company. For more information: www.schubergphilis.com.

About bol.com
Bol.com was founded in March 1999. Currently the online media store has more than two million customers in The Netherlands. In 2008 bol.com sold more than 11 million products. Bol.com is national market leader in online sales of books, entertainment and electronic products, and the largest internet store of The Netherlands. In the media store customers have access to more than two million articles: books in Dutch and English, second hand books, music, DVD’s, notebooks, software, PC accessories, games, electronics, mobile phone products and LCD / plasma televisions.

According to recent market research bol.com ranks number one with Dutch consumers as the most popular internet store. This appreciation with the public also clearly translates in consumer awards. In 2008 bol.com was elected as winner in the Nationale Thuiswinkel Awards in the category consumer electronics, books, CD’s and DVD’s. The media store also won the ‘Best web store of The Netherlands’ award. Dutch consumers considered bol.com in 2008 to be the most consumer friendly in the Netherlands for the second time in a row. Bol.com also won the ‘Click or Brick Award 2008’ (best shop in The Netherlands), a consumer price that makes no distinction between traditional and web stores.

For more information:
Ezra van Tiel
Bex*communicatie
T 020 582 98 29
E evtiel@bexcommunicatie.nl