Industry Voice: Power protection in today's retail industry
Discover how Eaton can support your power protection in today’s retail industry
Technological advancements such as digitalisation, the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, and the rise in big data have transformed the retail industry. Not only is the in-store experience changing, but so too are the requirements to ensure that both data and electronic equipment are properly safeguarded against potentially devasting power quality issues and outages.
From traditional point-of-sale (POS) systems and workstations to the cameras and motion sensors used to collect real-time shopper data, there is no shortage of devices to protect.
There has never been a greater need for retailers to employ well thought-out power protection across their entire IT infrastructure.
Impact of blackouts
The potential cost of blackouts on retailers can be significant. They can lead to fresh produce being spoilt, customers being blocked from using debit or credit cards, vital data being lost, and, in some cases, stores being forced to close.
Even a few minutes of downtime can lead to tens of thousands of pounds in lost revenue for larger retailers. It's important to recognise that the effect of power outages in the retail industry can impact their reputation if they are unable to effectively serve customers.
Ensuring continuous uptime
While technological advancements undeniably provide many opportunities to create innovative and engaging experiences for shoppers, they also pose some considerable challenges.
The rapid widespread adoption of online shopping means consumer expectations are rising around real-time access to merchandise, order information, and anytime/anywhere services with more pressure than ever for retailers to ensure continuous uptime and availability.
Checkouts, goods inward systems, and POS terminals must be protected from unexpected downtime and data loss in order to ensure business continuity.
Systems such as inventory management, workforce management, supply chain management, and transaction processing are equally important.
Effectively storing, managing, administering, and protecting the data within their shopping environments offers retailers the opportunity to maximise new technologies and optimise sales.
In addition, retailers are increasingly turning to edge computing. By allowing them to process, analyse, and take action closer to the customer, edge applications help retailers capitalise on new trends while relying on the cloud for storage.
To minimise the risks, the essential remote management requirements are forcing retailers to rethink how they'll implement a strategic, end-to-end approach to power management in these environments.
Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) and other power management products provide a compelling value proposition to keep retail IT infrastructure up and running. Yet managing this environment requires careful planning and deployment of the proper solutions.
Reducing cybersecurity risks
As retailers embrace digitalisation, the proliferation of smart, connected devices and ever-expanding server-gateway connections has created an unprecedented opportunity for hackers and cyber criminals.
Experts predict there will be some 27 billion connected devices by 2025 (IoT Analytics, State of IoT, Spring 2022), making cyberattacks a huge concern for retailers.
It is essential to ensure that power protection solutions remain secure and resilient, concerns that manufacturers are now addressing in their UPSs, network cards, software and power distribution units (PDUs).
Eaton is dedicated to establishing cyber-secure processes, and innovating technologies that make trusted connections work. That's why all of Eaton's technologies are certified to critical cybersecurity standards.
Eaton's portfolio of power protection products for retail
Retailers need solutions that offer them visibility into their power protection infrastructure and proactively respond when needed; that keep operations up and running without interruption in stores to ensure salespeople can remain focused on selling, rather than on attempting to remedy power ailments.
Discover the Eaton portfolio for your retail environment
Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we're accelerating the planet's transition to renewable energy, helping to solve the world's most urgent power management challenges, and doing what's best for our stakeholders and all of society.
Founded in 1911, Eaton is marking its 100th anniversary of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We reported revenues of $20.8 billion in 2022 and serve customers in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a sponsored post funded by Eaton