Cloud Computing: Impact on the Retail Industry

Source:-https://customerthink.com

Running a retail business is no mean task — one must keep the business going in the general sense and battle with a variety of challenges, including the intense competition in the market. Then there’s also the growing threat from the e-commerce industry? Retail sector has more than its fair share of challenges and successfully deals with them; it needs help — the kind that only advanced technologies can provide. And among the many such technologies with the potential to aid the sector, cloud computing has managed to establish itself as the crowd favorite quite quickly.

Why? Well, one of the key reasons is that cloud computing has helped retailers do much more with their data. Retail is a cut-throat space. Any entity in this space that intends to remain competitive must contend with various distinctive challenges. It helps streamline the supply chain and logistics, strategizing expansion to foster a more significant customer base, striving to deliver high-quality customer experiences, and so much more. And for that, you need data. In addition to helping retail operators effectively gather, store, and manage their data, cloud computing is also assisting retailers to process and analyze their data to glean meaningful and highly potent insights. But wait, there’s more — the retail sector has also been able to use cloud computing to cut down costs significantly. It helps gain access to critical data, such as operational, inventory, etc., in real-time, and so much more.

Cloud computing and other such services have proven to be so valuable. A Gartner study predicted that by 2022, 90 percent of organizations would have integrated cloud services in their operations. There is plenty that cloud computing can do for this sector and some of those benefits have been discussed in detail below to help you gain some perspective.

Enhanced data security: Given the extensive amount of data retailers deal with; they have felt the growing need for solutions to help them deal with this particular problem. In this regard, cloud computing helps by, first, enabling seamless and safe handling of all their data. To further fortify this data’s security, it allows the integration and use of avant-garde encryption, event logging, firewalls, etc. It is vital because the data with retailers is often sensitive in nature, primarily generated from customers and transactions.
Better customer experiences: Cloud computing has excellent value to offer when it comes to delivering top-notch shopping experiences for retail customers. How? These modern platforms feature a world of components and functionalities that empower retailers with the right information and drive better strategies to achieve next-level customer experiences.
Improved profits: Of course, much like for every single business in the world, retailers too, are continually striving for better profits. However, it is easier said than done, primarily because of the intense competition this industry is subjected to. Thankfully, cloud computing helps retailers navigate these challenges as well via data-driven insights to help cut costs. Furthermore, it also helps retail companies save on the IT infrastructure cost, including maintaining the infrastructure they would need without cloud computing.
It is abundantly clear that cloud computing and other cloud-related services are here to say, thanks to the immense value they offer to the retail industry. Though besides the aforementioned benefits, cloud computing is also highly scalable, reliable, and offers ace levels of cost efficacy, provided you have the right retail software solution for your business, of course.