LONDON, UK – January 25, 2012 – Ixxus today announced that it has undertaken two phases of work for the Associated News & Media Group. Their subsidiary, Associated Newspapers, is one of the UK’s largest publishers of national newspapers and consumer websites, publishing The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and Metro

Ixxus are working with Associated News & Media to improve the search experience on the MailLife online retail store. MailLife is targeted at Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday readers, and for this demographic, search is a primary route for finding products on the site.

The commerce platform that MailLife is built upon utilises Apache Solr, a best of breed Open Source search service which is developed by Lucid Imagination. As a Lucid Imagination partner with extensive experience in developing robust search solutions, Ixxus were a clear choice to carry out the improvements.

After analysis of the MailLife platform and discussion with the client, Ixxus identified a prioritised roadmap of issues to tackle in taking Solr from the default configuration as supplied with the commerce platform to an appropriately configured and tuned installation.

The improvements were of critical importance for MailLife in the run up to the busy Christmas period. Customers can now locate relevant products quickly and easily when required, improving the user experience and facilitating sales.

About Ixxus

With headquarters in London, Ixxus is an experienced global consultancy and systems integration organisation. The company specialises in the design, development and operational support of enterprise content management and search solutions, with a modern and innovative approach to project delivery.

Ixxus is both an Alfresco platinum partner and a Lucid Imagination partner, with unrivalled implementation experience and a team now of over 30 Alfresco consultants; the largest dedicated team globally outside Alfresco itself. The company has worked across all industry sectors; including publishing finance, higher education, government, legal and manufacturing. Customers include Garland Science, Yell.com, Virgin Money Giving, Amnesty International and 118.com.

About Associated Newspapers

Associated Newspapers is part of A&N Media and one of the UK’s largest publishers of national newspapers and consumer websites. In the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday it publishes two of the UK’s most influential paid-for newspapers, as well as, in the urban daily Metro, the third most-read national newspaper. Alongside the newspapers’ companion websites (including MailOnlineMetro.co.uk), its portfolio comprises prestigious brands such as This is Money and 7DAYS in Dubai.

About Associated News & Media

Associated News and Media is an international news organization, collecting and distributing news and reports from around the world. It supplies news and reports to media organisations and websites around the world, covering diverse topics from current affairs to entertainment and technology.The ANM Group has built one of the largest outlet networks in the world, covering small local and regional newspapers, to international dailies and some of highest traffic websites on the internet.