Tag: IT

The Future Of Retail Industry Is In Cloud Computing

The retail industry exemplifies the maxim, change is constant. Still, the approach of the industry towards emerging technology of cloud computing is somewhat baffling. Cloud computing, a paradigm shift after the client-server model break-through of the eighties, is starting to show up in every other business. Curious, retailing industry is clearly lagging behind. It happens when the practical applications of the technology can do wonders to the industry. The word ‘cloud’ in cloud computing is actually a metaphor used for internet. Using internet would have robbed the concept of its novelty.

Although everyone is familiar with information sharing through internet and worldwide web, performing all the operations of computing through the internet is not so familiar. Cloud computing exactly does the same. It shares information, software-applications and operating system-and infrastructure-hardware like servers and storage units – using internet. A revolutionary cloud computing model can avail high power computing to the customers who need to have only typical input/output infrastructure.

Software industry giants have already started providing their services on cloud. CRM of salesforce.com, office applications from Microsoft and Google and IBM enterprise solutions have already become popular. Sadly, retailing – one of the largest sectors of the economy – has not yet begun its experiences with cloud computing.

In the context of retail industry, cloud computing is particularly efficient in collection and analyses of huge volumes of sales data and in real time inventory management.

In retailing, points of sales generate large amounts of data each day. The sales data can be obtained through loyalty cards and discount coupons also. Most low and medium level retailers do not have the necessary resources to capture or utilize such enormous amounts of data. Cloud provider in retail can collect such data from sophisticated server networks connected to the supply chain to independent cash registers at family owned small stores and store it for the retailer. Such stored data may be accessed from anywhere, provided internet is accessible. A cloud computing provider can track performance of products in comparison to previous time periods. The cloud provider can identify the trend and seasonality component of each product, brand or category and identify and monitor the performance. Then it can provide analytical results to the retailers. The provider of the service can serve many retailers at the same time, without making each retailer do it individually for themselves.

The sales data collected from the point of sales is currently under-utilized. It is more due the incompatibility between volume of data and the processing power of the system. Such time consuming analyses fail to provide any useful insight in to customer behavior or trends in sales. The cloud provider can utilize high power computing resources and statistical models to analyse data in much shorter time. This is more so with to real-time analysis. Real-time analyses require huge capital expenditure and it incurs significant operating cost, often unaffordable to retailers.

A good cloud provider can easily help the retailer in understanding patterns and trends within large databases. It can be further utilized for creating analytical models, and to provide an edge to decision making. Thus retailers can increase their ability to forecast their customer’s behavior and plan accordingly. Retailers can then develop customer programs, marketing, merchandising and pricing strategies to attract more business. The cloud provider themselves design and provide such retailer specific plans.

Another important area of cloud application will be inventory management. Real time data and cloud architecture will largely reduce the problems like stock outs and overages. As well known, online retailers do not have inventory managed by themselves. Instead, it is done by the manufactures. Cloud computing can provide an efficient utilization of logistics, which will keep losses to the minimum in inventory management. What the online commerce does can be extended to whole of retail sector. Besides, as the cloud provider will be serving numerous retailers, they can very well manage difficult situations like stock unavailability. Cloud providers can provide valuable advises to retailers regarding product availability and back-up stock from forecasts. They can get realistic forecasts by analyzing huge amounts of data from numerous retailers. Thus retailers can develop a supply chain where the right product arrives at the right time.

Tier one retailers can save lot of expenditure in IT management, if they switch to cloud computing solutions. The complexity of keeping and managing individual systems can be avoided. Today large retailers struggle to keep tens of thousands of computers across hundreds of locations. The management of such a complex system causes enormous expenses for them. Such operations often cause poor decision making in their field of competency – retailing. Large expenses of management and administration of IT and networks can be reduced by simply switching over to a trusted cloud provider.

What is the difference between cloud computing and traditional model? Cloud computing has a number of advantages over the traditional software business in which retailers get licensed software installed in their systems. Here the retailers need not spend huge money on software licensing. They need not buy high end servers with high computing powers. There is no requirement of sophisticated storage units. The administration and networking of computers can be avoided. The pain of providing fire-wall and antivirus protection is avoided. Thus a there can be a significant reduction in investment as well as in operating costs.

One significant benefit for the cloud provider will be that of scale. Affordable solutions can be provided, considering the huge number of retailers in the industry. Most of the tasks to be performed by the provider will be of repetitive nature. Administration and management of databases can be easy due to centralization. The robustness of the whole system can also be ensured. Security and other reliability threats can be minimized due to the salient features of cloud architecture

The future of the cloud in retail starts with small retailers. Small retailers can effectively implement cloud solutions faster. Such solutions offer them significant cost reductions also. Any new venture in retail will also look for quick and easy implementation. An established cloud provider with a successful cloud model can provide quick and cheap solutions. The giants in retail industry may hesitate to adopt the cloud solution, considering the current maturity of the technology. With improvements in cloud applications as well as in internet technology, they will find it cost-effective to switch over. It is significant to note that innovations in most of the fields are taking place in the cloud computing model, not on traditional software business.

Retail cannot shy away from the emerging and powerful trend in the world of computing. With lots of cost-saving and time-saving measures, it will be inevitable that retail will adopt cloud computing once there evolve competent solutions.

Start an Internet Retail Business and Make it a Real Success

Internet marketing is an amazing way to get a vast range of prospects brought extra locally to your automotive repair shop. It lets persons who usually wouldn’t have the chance of seeing fix shop speedy entry to you at the touch of their fingertips. Specifically when they need it most. Now it’s just up to you. Are you heading to use the greatest marketing instrument to its your advantage?

On the internet businesses swept the world in modern several years. One particular is ready to obtain nearly almost everything they anticipate as a result of the Internet, this kind of as clothes, house wares and even foods, etc. Then it is also feasible to acquire eyeglasses at World wide web eyeglasses merchants.ts.

Eyeglasses offered in Online glasses stores are considerably less costly than people sold in native optical stores. The expense of a pair of eyeglasses in regular stores contain the the common cost of the eyewear in addition to lease, expense of put on and tear, additional price for stock, and needed service cost. Compared with regular ones, Web glass outlets get rid of a fantastic vast majority of these bills, then half of the price tag will be saved. This is the major purpose for the popularity of On-line optical merchants. What’s a lot more, Web glass retailers offer you excellent comfort for those who do not have ample time going out for procuring.

However, in talk of obtaining glasses, especially prescription glasses, a single would experience puzzled how could one particular achieves to purchase a suitable pair considering that it is a will need to for us to try out them on to look at the dimensions and vision previous to purchase.This is indeed an question have to have to inquire, but if ample preparation is produced, it does function. To start with, get your prescription in a professional eyecare center. On the prescription record, detail info concerning your eyes and eyesight will be integrated, these as the pupil distance. Then you could get the appropriate eyeglasses in accordance to people details secondly, measure your head circumference so as to guarantee the entire body of eyeglasses will not be too broad, resulting in frequent sliding. Normally you will be encouraged to obtain a pair of the equivalent type to the 1 you are wearing or have worn thirdly, make convinced what varieties of eyeglasses you will need, together with the colour, content and some other trimmings, and so forth.. For example, if your operate usually requires you to go out usually, UV resistant lenses are required. For some other puzzles, you could seek the advice of professional opticians On-line. This is a free support.

Thankfully, possessing to the fast advancement of World-wide-web market, improvements have been drastically reached in the World-wide-web company, which include those Internet glass outlets. In some shops, check out-on process has been applied. It is a procedure which allows you to upload your head photo, and you could decide on different eye wears to “try them on” on your head photo. Consequently, buying eyeglasses On-line would seem much more probable and reliable.

This sklepy internetowe the major motive for the popularity of On-line optical shops.

Edgar E. Kneel is the lead IT specialist for an World wide web sklepy internetowe and blogs about his experiences and strategies in his blog Web Retailer Weblog [http://www.internetretailerblog.com/Blog site/Multi-Keep_Net_Retailing.aspx] – Multi-Retailer Internet Retailing.

What Is An On-line Store And How Does It Do the job?