Retail CIO Outlook Weekly Brief
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As the retail industries gain unbelievable growth with higher acceptance from the customers, it is adopting various technology applications to enhance its functions and for disrupting its traditional way of performing sales. Previously, online retailing was just a small area of the retail industry, but today, it has become the most prominent part of the retail industry. The adoption of cloud computing technologies is adding more value to the retail industry and enhancing long-standing and core business strategies.
Previously, retailers would face various challenges such as adapting to changes in the purchasing behavior of the customers, their brand preference, and the speed in which they expect the sale or the delivery of the product. The advancements in mobile technologies have become a reason for an increase in the competition between retailers. These situations have forced organizations to adopt cloud computing technologies into their retail business processes.
Cloud technology in the retail industry is allowing retailers to ensure real-time access to all operational and financial data across the whole business, reduce costs, and achieve improves decision making. According to an analysis by MarketsandMarkets, the service models such as SaaS (Software as Service), IaaS (Infrastructure), and PaaS (Platform as Service) will impact the retailers in a better way. As compared to the other service models, SaaS is expected to hold the largest market share in the future—by 2021.
One of the most important areas in the cloud service application in the retail industry is inventory management. Cloud service provides real-time information on the retail sales processes that can reduce several risks or problems faced by organizations such as stock-outs and averages. Thus, the suppliers and retailers can have an effective supply chain management with the right product, at the right place, and at the right time.
Selecting a perfect cloud partner is an important factor while using cloud platforms in retail. For this purpose, some organizations analyze the blueprints and go through the cloud service model of the service providers to understand the functionalities and decide whether to leverage a particular cloud service or not.
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