Family-owned garden retailer Notcutts has strengthened the connectivity supporting its 19 garden centres across the UK, partnering with TalkTalk Business to upgrade its network infrastructure and introduce a more robust failover solution.

Established in 1897, Notcutts has grown from its heritage in horticulture to become one of the UK’s leading garden retailers, helping customers bring their gardens and homes to life. As the business evolved, bandwidth was becoming a constraint, and its existing network infrastructure was no longer keeping pace with the demands placed on it.

Notcutts’ previous MPLS network had provided reliable primary connectivity, but its ageing infrastructure and limited secondary failover solution created challenges. The backup connection was designed to keep essential services such as emergency till transactions running but could not support the full range of modern systems and services used by colleagues across its garden centres. With connectivity increasingly critical to day-to-day operations, Notcutts needed a solution that would provide greater capacity and resilience without introducing unnecessary technology or complexity.

TalkTalk Business worked with Notcutts to develop a solution around its specific requirements, retaining its proven MPLS approach while introducing enterprise-grade, high-bandwidth primary connections and full secondary failover. The project also included refreshed network equipment at each garden centre and an upgraded central connection linking Notcutts’ support office and the wider business to the internet. The entire migration was completed with zero downtime.

Andy King, Head of IT at Notcutts, said: “TalkTalk Business really listened to what we needed and didn’t try to oversell us on technology that wasn’t right for the business. They shaped the solution around our requirements and gave us confidence throughout the project, from delivery through to ongoing support.

“We now have the performance and capacity we need, with a secondary connection that can take over seamlessly if the primary network goes down, ensuring we can always serve customers without interruption.”

The upgraded infrastructure provides Notcutts with the capacity to support other projects reliant on internet connectivity without impacting established systems already using the network. It also provides a stronger foundation for the business for what comes next.

Ian Cairns, Sales Director at TalkTalk Business, said: “For a multi-site retailer like Notcutts, reliable connectivity is fundamental to keeping its garden centres running and delivering a consistent customer experience. 

“With increased capacity, resilient failover and refreshed equipment across its estate, we’ve helped Notcutts trade with confidence, delivering a network that’s ready to support its continued growth.”