The phone of Steve Bozzo, the chief information officer at 1-800-Flowers.com, does occasionally ring in the middle of the night. If all goes as planned, however, the site's customers never know about it.
"We work hard with our partners to avoid those 4 am phone calls," Bozzo told the E-Commerce Times. That doesn't mean Bozzo's days aren't filled with chasing technological solutions to business problems, of course. It just means that he spends more time looking ahead than putting out fires.
In fact, on any given day, the CIO and his team are likely found putting their Web site through rigorous testing meant to ensure it can withstand not only the daily wear and tear but also the five seasonal surges it sees around major holidays.
"We look at what we saw last year for a baseline, how well we did and project our growth, and then we give ourselves some wiggle room and then we stress it and test it to death," Bozzo said. Similar testing is done for the usability, reliability and security of the site. "On any given day, we're putting the site through any number of tests."
Bozzo's typical day is also filled with vendor meetings as the company evaluates the latest technology and the newest advances to see what makes sense for the site both now and in the future. "We're always looking to partner with vendors who can advance our business strategies," he added.
