John Lister, CIO at Specsavers, said: “As an organisation that uses components of open source software within our Retail operation, we needed a partner who understood both the demands of the dynamic business environment we operate in and our approach to high quality open software solutions, with enterprise level support. Progress can deliver this to very tight SLAs – a factor that is also important for our business as we continue with our ambitious global growth plans.”

Paul Broekhoven, manager FUSE EMEA division, at Progress Software, commented: “Specsavers selected the FUSE product so that they can deploy a flexible, open source solution while knowing that there is an enterprise software company with a proven track record backing the solution, ensuring that it’s fully maintained, risk-free and is working as efficiently as possible.  The FUSE product can deliver in the dynamically changing retail environment that they operate in, and scale to support the ambitious growth plans of the business.”

Progress Software Corporation is a global software company that enables enterprises to be operationally responsive to changing conditions and customer interactions as they occur – to capitalize on new opportunities, drive greater efficiencies and reduce risk.  The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of best-in-class infrastructure software spanning event-driven visibility and real-time response, open integration, data access and integration, and application development and deployment – all supporting on-premises and SaaS/Cloud deployments.  Progress maximizes the benefits of operational responsiveness while minimizing IT complexity and total cost of ownership.

About Specsavers

Specsavers notes to editors

• Specsavers was founded by Doug and Dame Mary Perkins in 1984 and is now the largest privately owned opticians in the world
• The couple still run the company, along with their three children. Their son John is joint managing director
• Specsavers has more than 1,500 stores throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.
• Annual turnover for the Specsavers Group is forecast to reach a record £1.4 billion in 2009/10
• Specsavers optical stores and hearing centres are owned and run by joint venture or franchise partners
• Specsavers employs more than 26,000 staff
• Specsavers was voted Britain’s most trusted brand of opticians for the ninth year running by the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands survey 2010
• More than one in three people who wear glasses in the UK buy them from Specsavers * – 9,700,000 glasses were exported from the warehouse to stores in 2009
• Specsavers was ranked No 1 for both eye tests and glasses in the UK *
• Over 70% (4.5m) of all Specsavers eye tests in the UK are NHS-funded.
• Specsavers share by volume of the total optical market (including retailers that are not opticians) is 34%. Our share of the opticians market is 39%.*
• Specsavers is the largest retail provider of home delivery contact lenses in Europe and one of the top two retail suppliers of continuous wear lenses in the world
• Specsavers is now the largest retail dispenser of digital hearing aids in the UK and offers a hearing service from more than 400 locations
• Specsavers supports numerous optical and hearing charities, including Guide Dogs and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. During its three-year support for Diabetes UK it raised more than £250,000 to fund research into diabetic retinopathy
• Since 2003 more than a quarter of a million glasses have been collected and recycled by Specsavers stores for Vision Aid Overseas, for use in developing countries. Specsavers stores across Britain raised more than £300,000 in 2009 to fund a dedicated eyecare clinic and teaching facility in Zambia, supported by Vision Aid Overseas. Stores will raise an additional £300,000 to continue the project.