iGroup – your technology partner, powering solutions

Job: X Buy Case Study.

"We went through two sets of developers before we found iGroup. Let's face it when your whole business is an internet offering and your survival depends on your web site finding the right technology is a lot more like a marriage and finding the right partner is crucial." – Gerhard Strydom, Managing Director, X Buy

After winning a tender from Absa, X Buy was in the enviable position of being able to develop a shopping mall and loyalty solution for South Africa's biggest banking brand. 'Security was paramount because Absa had recently done a transaction with Barclays Bank PLC. This meant that we not only had to meet Absa's exacting security standards, but had to ensure that the site performed to international banking standards," says Strydom.

After two bad experiences with developers, X Buy went through a rigorous selection process and selected iGroup for the task because the company specialises in challenging assignments and building the new HomeBuy portal would entail complying with world class security specifications.

www.homebuy.co.za was developed by iGroup for X Buy as part of Absa's drive to add value to home loan customers and potential home loan customers. "The site was tested by a specialised security company selected by Absa who are experts in their field. The first test report was incredibly positive with only a few minor changes that needed to be made."

The site went live after all remedial work was done in three weeks, which impressed Absa. The HomeBuy site then went on to win a gold award at Absa for the most innovative product for 2009 in the group. It has subsequently become one of the most innovative offerings and is a benchmark site for the group.

"Deciding to do business with iGroup was a difficult decision because we are relying completely on our digital partners so we scrutinized their track record, ensured that they had a bouquet of workable sites for leading brands, and that they were thoroughly experienced in dealing with high security sites for other banking brands," says Strydom. "We were sceptical and rigorous because it's a marriage, a really tough decision and we couldn't afford to make a mistake. Thankfully iGroup have over–delivered. There core strength is their ability to work within difficult environments and systems, and to do that work well."

"With HomeBuy it was a matter of building a technical machine and making it work in an incredibly high and restrictive security environment. This posted fairly extreme limitations on what could or couldn't be done. Thanks to iGroup's extreme innovation we have an online solution that has deepened our relationship with Absa and helped us create a sustainable, and viable long–term business."

iGroup is a technology driven; digital solutions company that crafts online products, brand experiences, campaigns and fully integrated e–commerce solutions. iGroup offers e–commerce enablement, web design and development, high–end hosting, security, the protection of data integrity, call centre integration, mobile interfaces and specialist search engine marketing. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, iGroup clients include Autostyle Motosport, Bakos Brothers, Bookmark, Blu–ray Disc, Carpe Diem, Caxton Magazines, eDreams.co.za, First Rand, HomeBuy, Lexus, Look & Listen, MiWay.co.za, Motorola, NuMetro, Penguin SA, Primedia, Soviet, Toyota, Van Schaik, X Buy, and Zurich. Over R150 million in transaction revenues have been processed to date through iGroup's e–commerce platform.

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