Blaze On signs contract with Q3 Internet for web hosting, email management and SSL certificate services

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Blaze On signs contract with Q3 Internet for web hosting, email management and SSL certificate services.

Blaze On, the fair trade retailer that specialises in ethically produced lights, candles and gifts, has selected Q3 Internet Services as its web hosting and SSL certificate provider. As well as hosting all the alias websites and URLs that Blaze On operates and owns, Q3 Internet Services is also managing the company's webmail account via dedicated mail servers and providing a specially customised GlobalSign Organisation SANS SSL Certificate that works across all of the Blaze On websites.

Blaze On is a unique retail business that has been operational for over 10 years. It prides itself on selling ethically sourced, fair trade goods that are hand-made by a small group of villagers in Thailand. Working in partnership, the villagers set their own wages and work around the rice growing season, meaning the village is not 100% dependent on Blaze On, as the community still earns money from selling rice. The partnership works to ensure the village is self-sufficient and means that local people can remain in their village, rather than having to leave to find work.

Lisa Durr, Managing Director of Blaze On, comments, "Our business has evolved significantly over the 10 years we have been operating. Beginning as a small market stall in Portobello Road, London, we have gradually expanded into two physical stores, an e-commerce site and a wholesale business to respond to the changing market conditions. As such, our website is one of the key retail channels we have, so it is imperative that it is fully operational and live 24/7."

Durr continues, "To ensure our ecommerce store is as inviting as possible for our customers, we decided to launch a new website in July 2012 which coincided with our SSL certificate expiring. Originally we were planning to stay with our hosting provider of five years, Rackspace, however through our discussions it was evident that the company could no longer host our website in the manner we needed. In particular, Rackspace wanted us to move servers due to the number of web aliases we have, which we were not keen to do because of the business disruption it would cause."

Durr adds, "Q3 Internet Services were providing my previous SSL certificates, so when I spoke to the sales team to renew the licence they explained their hosting capabilities to me and suggested I move onto their servers instead. The service that I had received previously from the Q3 team was excellent and so it was an easy decision to have them provide both my webhosting and SSL certificate."

As well as hosting the Blaze On site and its aliases, Q3 Internet Services has also created a bespoke SSL certificate for the company that operates across all of its websites, aliases and URLs. The Q3 Internet Services team also took over Blaze On's webmail, upgrading the mail server and creating new rules to make it easier for staff to manage their inboxes.

Durr concludes, "I am delighted with the service that I have received from the team at Q3. I have moved server four times in eight years and this was by far the most painless and straight forward of moves. I have already recommended Q3 to friends and other business contacts, and I am looking forward to continuing to work with the team as my business continues to grow."