EXCLUSIVE: Total Wine & More adopts enterprise cloud transformation
The nation’s largest independent retailer of wine, beer, and spirits is advancing its digital transformation through a strategic, multi-cloud approach.
In a technology implementation initiative exclusively released to Chain Store Age, Total Wine is adopting two public cloud platforms, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, in partnership with end-to-end hybrid cloud and AI solutions company Rackspace Technology.
Total Wine selected Rackspace to provide flexible, managed support and cloud optimization expertise. The retailer is leveraging Rackspace solutions including Elastic Engineering, which provides ongoing support for modernizing Total Wine’s inventory system and migrating backend operations to Azure, including automation with managed Terraform services across cloud environments.
The retailer is also deploying Rackspace database administration services for databases supporting e-commerce and inventory systems, as well as the Rackspace Optimizer+ solution that delivers strategic insights and automated optimizations. So far, Total Wine says Optimizer+ has helped reduce cloud costs by 20% year-to-date.
“We needed a partner who could support our multi-cloud strategy and provide consistent, expert guidance across both Azure and Google Cloud,” said Rob DeSantos, VP of infrastructure and workplace solutions at Total Wine & More. “Rackspace Technology not only met those needs but exceeded our expectations with their technical depth and collaborative approach.”
With Rackspace Technology as a strategic partner, the company says it has enhanced its ability to scale, innovate, and deliver exceptional customer experiences as it continues to expand its footprint.
[READ MORE: Total Wine & More signs 32,000-sq.-ft. lease to fill New Jersey center]
Other benefits the retailer has received from its cloud transformation initiative include:
- Tasks that would have been delayed or deprioritized were automated due to Rackspace Elastic Engineering, such as implementing Terraform to synchronize records stored on domain name servcers across both clouds.
- The retailer harnessed GoogleCloud for an enterprise data analytics platform based on the Google BigQuery data warehouse, enabling greater efficiency and analytics for large volumes of data which drove smarter decisions and overall business intelligence for growth. A negotiated agreement gave Total Wine a predictable, discounted pricing in exchange for usage commitments.
"Total Wine & More’s multicloud strategy showcases the value of choosing the right cloud for the right workload," said D.K. Sinha, president of public cloud at Rackspace Technology, in commentary provided to Chain Store Age. "By leveraging both Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud and partnering with Rackspace Technology for unified expertise across platforms, they gained flexibility, cost efficiency, and speed. This approach is increasingly common among innovative retailers seeking to modernize faster and use multi-cloud as a driver of agility and customer experience.""
Founded in 1991, Total Wine & More is the largest independent retailer of fine wine in the U.S., offering over 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits, and 2,500 beers in 284 superstores across 29 states.
