Extreme Networks is the first cloud management provider to deliver unlimited data to its customers for the life of their cloud license.  In the blog post below, learn why data analytics meets the evolving needs of retail, what use cases cloud-driven networking delivers to businesses, and how ExtremeCloud IQ (with unlimited data analytics) equips organizations with a powerful tool that meets the unique requirements of the industry today and in the future.

A Data-Driven World

In today’s increasingly digitalized society, data is nearly as valuable as currency.  Meaningful, actionable intelligence that empowers essential elements of an organization results in stronger business outcomes and higher-quality customer experiences.  For a dynamic and constantly evolving industry like retail, which has only been disrupted further by recent events, data analytics is paramount to future success.

A compelling source of data analytics for retailers and their environments lies in the IT infrastructure.  The right IT network solution informs important business decisions to:

• Maintain customer health and safety
• Deliver quality, personalized shopping experiences
• Improve operational efficiency and staff support
• Increase sales and drive revenue 

Network-powered analytics also empowers retailers with the flexibility and scalability to seamlessly adapt to shifting needs, whatever those needs may be now and in the future.

Cloud-Enabled Retail Intelligence 

A key element of a retailer’s IT infrastructure moving forward is the cloud.  A purpose-built, cloud-driven network delivers substantial benefits to an IT solution and the supporting IT team.  A robust cloud platform also unlocks cross-functional value for retailers, including:      

       I. Business Intelligence:

1. Real-time and historical visitor trends, across distributed locations
2. In-store engagements: shopper behaviors, movements, and preferences
3. Impact and adoption of targeted mobile promotions and campaigns
4. Staff/associate tracking for enablement and optimization

       II. IT Intelligence:

1. 360-degree view of network, client, device usage and quality of experience
2. Network performance benchmarking for coverage and capacity planning
3. Store-to-store comparative analytics across distributed region/geos
4. Month-to-month, year over year data comparisons

To achieve these data-driven competencies retailers need to easily access their information from an intuitive, centralized platform with robust data durability.

Unlimited Data from ExtremeCloud IQ for Retail

To optimize how analytics are leveraged, retailers need a platform that delivers data durability – or data that doesn’t vanish after a certain amount of time.  To meet these requirements, Extreme is the first provider to offer unlimited data for enterprise businesses with our 4^th generation cloud platform, ExtremeCloud IQ.  Subscribers of ExtremeCloud IQ Pilot will have access to unlimited data for the lifetime of their subscriptions.  Not to mention, with ExtremeCloud IQ retail businesses have the flexibility to choose their preferred deployment model: public, private, or local/on-premises options, with a back end that supports cloud vendor-agnostic regional and global data centers.

Want to see data-driven innovation for retail in action? Check out three micro demo videos of ExtremeCloud IQ!