Cybersecurity
2. Actionable insight If offering modern Wi-Fi is key to providing seamless customer experiences, actionable insight is the ROI waiting behind door number one. And two. And three. Making informed decisions has always been essential to success, especially in times of great change. This is what will separate the best from the rest. Modern cloud-native network providers supply exactly that –
actionable insights. Of course, traditional services also provide information, but as we all know, data is only valuable when it’s functional and presented in context. Fortunately for retailers, the cloud-managed network sector offers
unified management platforms that make it easy to run the general networking operation and the data centre. And with data that’s easily understood, retailers can make data-driven decisions when it comes to operational efficiencies and improved customer experiences.
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uccess for modern retailers now depends on providing a smooth customer experience across all the different channels and touchpoints, without sacrificing security in the process.
Consequently, retailers are turning to services such as cloud networking to reach that not-so-straightforward goal. Here are three reasons why cloud networking can help address challenges for modern retailers.
1. Stable and dynamic network The days when people went shopping without expecting some kind of digital offering are gone. Everyone and everything is online, simultaneously, and often clustered together. As a result, expectations have developed to the point where a lack of connectivity – or even just a slow or unstable connection – can spoil the entire retail experience. And not just for customers. Employees can also be hindered by lagging point-of-sales systems or inventory management systems that are slow to update. Traditional, static Wi-Fi can’t (and was never meant to) handle that sort
of volume. It’s too rigid a solution for the modern retail experience. It lacks agility. Resilience. Speed. These things are essential in an industry that is constantly forced to adapt. Modern cloud-native networks are much better suited to respond to the
shifting needs of retailers. They can easily be scaled to match the rise and fall of traffic during peak periods, and they can isolate and resolve issues without bringing the whole network offline. And with the introduction of Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, they’re faster than ever. In other words, retailers are moving to cloud networking because it’s a made-to-match solution instead of the traditional one-size-fits-all approach.
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3. Cybersecurity As the old saying goes, the more digital information we collect and devices we connect, the more cyberattacks we must expect. The sad reality is that the once scattered and disorganised cybercriminal industry has flourished in this data-driven society, and they’re highly attuned to the vulnerabilities of traditional networks. This is yet another area in which cloud-native networks have the edge
over their less dynamic siblings. While the benefits vary from provider to provider, a good ISO 27001-certified solution should allow retailers to: • Install security patches and updates in a matter of days instead of months.
• Implement security solutions for encrypted guest access and IoT devices.
• Take advantage of microservice architecture instead of server-based hardware, so updates can be installed without any downtime.
• Configure changes. If it causes an issue, the system reverts the change automatically. Use Private Client Groups (PCG) combined with Private Pre-Shared Key (PPSK) solutions for unique and secure micro-segmentation.
• Implement 802.1X level user authentication identity without the need to configure RADIUS servers, EAP settings, certificates, etc.
• Provide each mobile device with a private key (used for encryption). If keys are compromised, they can be disabled in isolation.
The importance of a secure network can hardly be overstated. It ties directly into the value of reasons one and two. The more valuable data the retailer stores across their locations, the more lucrative targets they’ll be. Having a cloud-managed and highly secure network has therefore never been more important. In the competitive and ever-changing industry that is modern retail,
adaptability looks to be the name of the game going forward. It’s perhaps no surprise then, that retailers are turning away from traditional tools and towards modern cloud solutions for more flexibility, stability, and security.
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