Technology expectations are high for retail owners, associates, and shoppers. This is driving the need for innovations in the form of bespoke devices, applications, and services, which in turn drives requirements for a modernized infrastructure enabled by the cloud. At the same, time, all of this introduces exposure to cyber risks that must be mitigated
Most technology is viewed by the organization from the customer-facing or associate-facing perspective. Shoppers use their phones to locate items in the store; associates use devices to scan the price of an item or to check inventory in the back office, and so on. What often goes unseen from the retail leader’s perspective is the infrastructure that’s needed to make this all possible.
Many innovations require a high-speed, high-performing, and highly-scalable digital infrastructure built on the cloud and supported by massive amounts of business data. The modern retailer infrastructure also needs to leverage real-time data analysis using artificial intelligence.
According to an IBM study, 64% of organizations shifted to more cloud-based business activities, with 97% employing the cloud and 78% implementing an AI pilot in some fashion. And results from an IBM CIO study found that since 2019, there have been monumental increases in the number of CIOs whose organizations have advanced hybrid cloud operations (700%) and intelligent workflows (560%). (1)
While cloud technologies create innovation opportunities, they also introduce infrastructure threats. The majority of organizations fail to secure data that moves across cloud and on-premises environments, (2) and most cyber-related incidents originate in cloud environments.
The vulnerability of the cloud is borne from an inability to adapt security practices to an open environment. Organizations tend to lack the ability to securely enable and extend cloud-native capabilities to their internal and external partners. (3)
In many cases, companies can benefit from a partnership with an organization like Taos to help define the bigger picture strategy in a way that can scale and grow, but also through a means where they start and remain secure.
Citations:
1 – “The CIO Revolution: Breaking barriers, creating value,” IBM, November 2021
2, 3 – “Benchmark Insights: Getting started with zero trust security,” IBM, July 2021