Microsoft gets Tutuka.com customers lining up for savings

Unlike many international Internet start-ups that fold within months of opening, local one-stop online savings shop Tutuka.com is growing in excess of 50 percent per year and has in excess of 2 million hits on the site per month. According to managing director Robert Coutts, the Microsoft technology solution powering the business is one of the primary reasons for Tutuka`s success to date.

"The Microsoft technology platform has enabled us to get both our customers` sites live and generating business while still under development, which means a significantly reduced time to market," explains Coutts. "The successful use of Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and Microsoft Internet Information Server has meant that we have experienced no unplanned downtime to date."

Tutuka.com follows a business model that provides a front-end shopping and savings site for registered consumers, as well as an Application Service Provider (ASP) offering, which takes brick and mortar retailers online. "Essentially, the gap is bridged between buyers and sellers without the need for retailers to have a traditional online offering while leveraging their investment in their real world stores,` explains Coutts. The company`s investment in these sectors followed international research by Cyberdialog, which projected that 77 billion dollars of consumer spending will be influenced by the Internet within the 1998 financial year alone.

"Many retailers, especially smaller start-ups, recognise the importance of having a Web presence, yet are reluctant to market their products online due to a lack of know-how and a perception of high initial capital investment," says Coutts. "Tutuka.com takes the administrative pain away from retailers who want to go online, by developing a Web presence in as little as three weeks and by using the Internet to drive people into real world, or digital, stores.

For consumers, the site offers savings in eight categories including books, technology, entertainment, fashion, groceries, home and garden, personal finance and travel. Shoppers can retrieve virtual vouchers that are printed out and used in brick and mortar shops to obtain discounts on various offerings. Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 is the platform that drives the database and also enables the site to host a number of additional features including group savings, online shopping, competitions, auctions and a bargain-finder search facility. The site has been WAP-enabled and will be released to the public shortly.

"Internal research that we have conducted has shown that sixty percent of vouchers downloaded are actually used," says Coutts. "Our ability to conduct active research on all campaigns has really benefited our corporate retail clients, who are now able to gauge the return on their marketing spend."

The site also makes use of a variety of customer relationship management (CRM) techniques aimed at increasing customer loyalty to the site. Visitors can earn loyalty points by printing a coupon, entering competitions, partaking in forums or voting on pertinent issues. "Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 tracks user preferences and updates them in the central database, ensuring users get tailored and targeted information and allowing us to utilise the Internet as a successful marketing tool," says Coutts.

The company has used Microsoft technologies since its inception in 1998. "We needed a technology platform that is reliable as the site had to be continuously available, 24 X 7, to both retailers and purchasers," says Coutts. "We have been able to grow the company considerably as the Microsoft platform has allowed scalability, without impacting on the site`s reliability."

Coutts believes that Microsoft has clearly shown its ability to adapt to both the consumer and business markets in terms of its product offerings. "Our technology choices are based on whether the products can provide us with the extra functionality we require to enhance user ease, which contributes to a positive online experience. Not only did we receive this functionality with the Microsoft platform, but the technology also proved to be exceptionally stable," he says.

Tutuka.com`s future plans include expansion into a number of global markets. Clustering the servers as Tutuka grows to accommodate higher reliability and speed, was a consideration in choosing Microsoft technology.

"As an Internet start-up itself, Tutuka.com has demonstrated both the success and benefits of Microsoft technology within the online retail environment and is therefore well placed to help other companies move their business to the Web," says Dave Marcus, dot-com group manager at Microsoft South Africa. "Tutuka.com`s success is a great example of Microsoft technology making the dot.com vision a reality while putting South African businesses firmly on the Internet map."