Sale Sharks server solution grows rugby's online presence

"The world's media uses our website to stay informed on not just the Sale Sharks but premiership Rugby," says media and PR manager, Dave Swanton. "And with 10,000 active members, we're committed to delivering the net's best rugby club resource."

Shark's chief executive Niels de Vos sees online as a crucial part of the team's relationship with fans. "Our fans are fanatical about rugby and they love the website," he enthuses. "They expect it to be constantly up-to-date with the latest news and results. It has to be always available, even at two in the morning. They won't accept anything less."

A reliable and scalable solution for a growing rugby community

Sale Sharks needed a server solution to facilitate their online plans for growth. The club needed a reliable solution for their internet community to cater for fans, press and ticket-buyers alike. Their profile was growing quickly and they looked to UKFast to provide a scalable hosting solution which would keep their website and online shop up and running 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

UKFast also foresaw the potential issue of bandwidth problems. The site has periods of extreme business - such as matchdays - and Sale needed a solution which would cope with these peaks in traffic.

A reliable website with 100% uptime

"Reliability over the years has been tremendous," said Nathan Bombrys, Sale Sharks' marketing manager. "We've had no downtime and our visitor experience is always fast. When we launched a new site at the start of the 2004/5 season, the number of hits went up 4500% to over 115,000 a week. We haven't stopped growing since and our performance has remained constant."

A dedicated server offers a level of reliability which cannot be obtained through shared hosting solutions. UKFast's robust network links its Manchester data centre to London, delivering the highest level of failover in the industry today.

Facilitating a dedicated rugby community online

Online ticketing and merchandise have now been in place for a number of seasons. The success of the team and the website have given seed to a vibrant online community that often tests the power of the GraphiteRack hosting servers that lie behind it.

Bandwidth prediction caters for peaks in online traffic

Nathan Bombrys cites the flexible relationship as one of UKFast key qualities. "Weekends bring significantly heavy traffic and a good win can increase users by 500 per cent. Fans read match reports, check league tables and are often inspired to book their next tickets or browse the shop at the same time.

"The guys at UKFast take all this into account. The tech team monitor and predict our bandwidth so we are never in danger of overloading the server. At Twickenham in May 2006, UKFast were with us, in the crowd and the office. When the final whistle blew, our web server was ready for the onslaught. This kind of personal service is typical of UKFast's customer care.

Teamwork creates success online and on the pitch

The two teams have worked together to develop the Sharks online resource. UKFast's MD, Lawrence Jones has always maintained a close relationship with the club and has helped shape its growth over the years by consulting on issues such as online ticket sales and the Sale Sharks online shop.

"The management team are a pleasure to work with," says Jones. "The off pitch partnership of Niels de Vos and Philippe Saint-Andre, has resulted in an unbeatable team on the field. Our solution has helped to really maximise the web's potential for them. A few seasons ago, they were playing to crowds of three to four thousand but the last few seasons Sale have been enjoying over 10,000 at Edgeley Park and 70% of those tickets are now sold online."

The Sharks online shop has also played a big part in the goal to turn Sale Sharks into a profit making business. De Vos is eager to continue the success. "The website is now a very valuable tool for our business. We take more money over the internet than we ever imagined and UKFast's continual vision gives us the confidence to keep developing this winning formula."

Passionate support builds a strong and positive relationship

"It's great also that we are huge fans," says Lawrence Jones. "I have sponsored Charlie Hodgson for almost seven years. We're always there supporting on the sidelines and we take other clients so they can share in the experience. The relationship works so well because we're both Passionate, professional, supportive and dynamic in our work."

Dave Swanton is just as positive about the relationship. "The team at UKFast are always there when you need them. Their after sales service is quite simply second to none."

As well as sponsoring Sale Sharks, UKFast developed and host the main team site www.salesharks.com and their ecommerce site Sale Sharks Shop.

If you would like to find out more and discuss how we can help your business flourish online call today on 0800 458 4545 or contact us online.