Boscov’s, a 49-Store Retail Chain, Relies Upon Direct LTx for Critical Data Center Operations, Connectivity, and Resiliency
“Direct LTx management cares deeply about the customer experience and are very responsive to our individual changing needs while also investing in facility upgrades and enhancements on a regular basis. Moving to a colocation facility was a big decision for us, and it has been a success in every way.”
Boscov’s Department Store, LLC is a retail department store chain, headquartered in Pennsylvania with 49 stores across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Ohio. Boscov’s partners with Direct LTx, a Reading, Pennsylvania colocation firm providing data center space and services as well as office environments for more than 60 members of Boscov’s information technology team.
Boscov’s data center within Direct LTx houses the necessary technology to connect the store and corporate locations and support most of the company’s technology systems, whether on-premises or SaaS-based. The data center is also connected to a third-party business continuity provider that provides disaster recovery services for Boscov’s infrastructure and systems at a different location.
Boscov’s data center team oversees a 24/7 network operations center (NOC) at Direct LTx, which monitors all on-premises and SaaS-based company technology systems, along with connectivity to store and corporate locations.
History: Boscov’s infrastructure was previously housed in a company-owned facility in Laureldale, Pennsylvania, but it lacked the stable power supply and resiliency of a Tier-3-level-data center. While looking for potential community redevelopment projects, Boscov’s owner, the late Albert Boscov, came across a highly redundant former electric utility headquarters and data center that had been recently vacated due to corporate restructuring. Direct LTx (then known as Directlink Technologies) was founded primarily to enhance the technology ecosystem of the entire Eastern Pennsylvania area but as a bonus provided a needed facility upgrade for the growing IT infrastructure needs of Boscov’s.
Quality of Service: Boscov’s Kevin Eberhart was employed with Boscov’s at the time of the move to Direct LTx. Today he is Boscov’s chief information officer (CIO) and says:
“Since we’ve been over here at Direct LTx things have been much more stable than in our previous data center. Proper architecture and engineering allow Boscov’s to avoid any network-impacting events. When other providers in the area have suffered downtime due to major storms in recent years, Direct LTx has remained up and running for Boscov’s and our customers. The wide array of telecom providers gives us plenty of options and the flexibility, scalability, and choices we desire.
“The Direct LTx facility has a rich history, and as a young technologist, I took classes here for professional certifications. The building has ‘great bones’ thanks to the quality construction overseen by the utility company. That solid foundation has been enhanced by Direct LTx’s significant investment in electrical and mechanical infrastructure, along with upgrading the facility to include a dozen unique fiber options.
“The 49 Boscov’s stores are networked back to the data center. We utilize three unique telecom providers for different functions, and all have multiple paths in and out of the data center. The performance, latency, and stability all meet the demanding requirements of a thriving department store chain.
Direct LTx serves more than 40 customers, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Contact us for references and further details.