Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 53 | Page 25

BUSINESS INSIGHTS the requirements be in 10 or 15 years , for example . Planning ahead requires a crossorganisational strategy , incorporating the IT department and building management teams , as well as other stakeholders .
What pressures does this demand for digital place on retail infrastructure ?
There are multiple pressures on retail infrastructure . Take CCTV , for example , which requires storage of hundreds of images – all of which must be kept in a secure , regulated environment , so stored in a separate cabinet .
Then there is the high quantity of data which is stored , which helps to provide personalised experiences for customers based on their preferences and any special offers that align with those .
At this time , we are seeing many retailers opting to purchase bigger UPS ’ which are scalable and that start with an autonomy time of 10 minutes and can increase to whatever they want . These items are becoming more and more critical for retailers .
How can retailers ensure consistency both online and offline to ensure positive customer experiences ?
When choosing to buy online , customers will look at the price and availability , but will always choose based on what will arrive tomorrow .
If retailers want to survive in this market , they need to have optimised systems , the right stock levels and well-organised transportation systems . Customer experience is crucial – if you go to a shop for instance
To be able to provide these services and optimise infrastructure , there needs to be standardisation across individual countries or regions . Solutions also need to be flexible and scalable – a challenge given that there is no crystal ball to see what the requirements will be in five- or 10-years ’ time .
We do know that organisations will need to install more IT equipment and that they will need to ensure the grid is stable .
Solutions also need to be flexible and scalable – a challenge given that there is no crystal ball to see what the requirements will be in fiveor 10-years ’ time .
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