Retailers of all sizes recognize the opportunities and challenges Black Friday and Cyber Monday represent. Smaller retailers may lack the level of onsite expertise and budget of their larger competitors, but with SD-WAN they can level the playing field, compete and win!
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, the topics of systems availability and cybersecurity are top-of-mind with the majority of IT and business professionals. Of course, while I offer today’s thoughts under the umbrella of these two significant dates in the retail world, proactive IT and business professionals have likely been thinking about this all year round!
Regardless of the department in which you sit, anyone in the retail world is well aware that simply offering door-busters and deep discounts to attract the attention of holiday shoppers is no longer enough in today’s ultra-competitive battle for consumer mindshare. This is especially true for smaller retailers, who can be at a significant disadvantage against larger competitors when it comes to both budget and IT resources. That’s why it’s so important for these retailers—including remote sites and franchises—to focus on what really matters in winning new business: the entire customer experience (CX).
So, how does a smaller organization compete against a behemoth brand when it comes to ensuring the optimum CX? The answer, not surprisingly, is technology. Technology can level the playing field for smaller companies to effectively compete against their largest competitors—and win.
However, not all technology is equally valuable or even viable. Yet, there is constant pressure to employ innovative technologies such as specialized shopping and payment apps, or even virtual reality/augmented reality and the Internet of Things (IoT). And, while these technologies can certainly create personalized, immersive digital experiences for customers, they might not be feasible when it comes to adequately protecting business and customer data. Moreover, new technologies can be overly complex to manage from an ongoing IT standpoint. Unless…
Smaller retailers can leverage a proven technology platform to even their odds on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and all year round: secure software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology.
Top Three Reasons for Smaller Retailers to Deploy SD-WAN
Increasing agility and simplification
In the retail world, “omnichannel†is now the name of the game, and integration is vital now that a customer’s online experience is increasingly interlinked with their brick-and-mortar shopping. By improving IT agility with more mobile technologies to reach customers where they are, SD-WAN can help smaller retailers automate their operations and simplify their networks to deliver a great CX.
Clearing a path to personalizatio
n
Now that consumers expect a true omnichannel shopping experience, smaller retailers must figure out an effective way to personalize the CX or they’ll find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. SD-WAN helps these retailers integrate online platforms with their physical stores. This allows them to give shoppers what they demand today: a truly personalized experience of omnichannel shopping.
Increasing data security
The retail industry is among many that must prioritize customer data security, as well as the protection of business data. A single security data breach can result not only in significant regulatory fines and legal fees, but can also destroy a retailer’s and brand’s reputation. SD-WAN helps to minimize cybersecurity risks for retailers through data protection strategies that include secure payment systems, next-generation firewalls, advanced encryption technologies, and automated PCI compliance tools.
It’s clear that SD-WAN can fundamentally change the way smaller retailers use technology by empowering them to rapidly deploy, secure, protect, and optimize new applications on-site and into the cloud. In particular, it enables these businesses to overcome the network edge challenges that can’t be solved with traditional networking and other technologies designed (and priced) for large enterprise organizations. SD-WAN makes it easy, non-disruptive, and cost-effective to securely deliver, test, and deploy new apps and services. That’s why SD-WAN has become the great equalizer for smaller retailers that wish to ensure the optimum shopping experience on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and well into the future!