Under the terms, Q9 will manage Running Room systems supporting e-mail, accounting, POS and inventory management applications, in addition to hosting the company?s Web site and online store. Q9 will also provide an array of managed services including physical data center space, bandwidth, servers, firewalls and back-up services.

"By outsourcing our infrastructure to Q9, we're enabling our staff to focus on developing innovative applications that will better serve our running customers," said John Stanton, president and founder of the Running Room. "In our view, Q9's state-of-the-art facilities, expert support and high availability managed services clearly establishes them as the industry leader. We're confident that the partnership with Q9 will help facilitate our continued growth over the long term."

The services will be provided through Q9?s Calgary Internet data center facility.

"Our Calgary facility, which opened only six months ago, is attracting significant interest from top Alberta-based companies like the Running Room," said Osama Arafat, CEO of Q9 Networks. "The Running Room is an excellent example of how leading Canadian companies recognize and leverage the value of Q9 services to build their businesses and their brands. Our world-class data centers and expert staff are uniquely positioned to take on the infrastructure management burden for these firms. We are delighted to have been selected by this outstanding Canadian retailer."

Q9 Networks is a Canadian based provider of managed hosting services with offices in Calgary and Toronto.