As consumers increasingly ask for more personalized and engaging shopping experiences, quick adoption and even faster abandonment of trends in retail is not an unusual occurrence. Today’s PlayStation could easily turn into tomorrow’s Atari. While retailers need to keep a close watch on ever evolving consumer habits, with Network as a Service (NaaS) they do not have to be as concerned about the future readiness of their network knowing they have a new way to consume and manage their enterprise networks.
HPE GreenLake for Networking, a NaaS offer, provides partners a reliable, scalable, network solution to deliver to retailers, giving them the ability to adopt new technologies quickly while reducing network guess work through more predictable planning and budgeting. Retail has proven to be one of the most receptive sectors to paying for technology as a Service (aaS). NaaS enables a more connected retail experience through up-to-date equipment and configurations permitting cost to be allocated into a per-store model. The bottom line for retailers is that only paying for what you need when you need it, is a trend that is here to stay.
So Why are Retailers Considering NaaS?
1. Ability to Scale Quickly
NaaS offer a pay-as-you-grow model with a complete network solution (hardware, software, and lifecycle management) helping retailers to scale in accordance with their footprint and network usage. Whether that means expanding network coverage to reach well outside the store for BOPIS orders or adding more associate devices such as handheld barcode scanners, being able to scale quickly is important to customer loyalty and company revenue.
2. Agility to Innovate
No matter if it is today or years in the future, retailers will need to continually modernize their networking infrastructure. Current trends like contactless payment and app-based payment systems allow for a more seamless customer experience but add additional devices to the network ecosystem. The expertise and consumption-based model provided by managed services, such as NaaS, let retailers focus on business dynamics while keeping pace with innovation.
3. Financial Flexibility and Predictability
Retail is under constant pressure to compete and deliver new services; To deliver business outcomes, they need to invest and innovate. NaaS helps retailers remove the guesswork out of long-term planning and capital budgeting. It keeps costs predictable through subscription-based payments and helps retailers free up IT staff to focus on more strategic initiatives that help propel the business forward.
4. Enhanced Network Security
Retailers need to constantly manage their network to avoid security threats and instances of downtime and with limited resources. It is easy for IT teams to become overwhelmed. HPE GreenLake for Networking provides digital insights and reporting capabilities that customers can leverage to keep their environment up to date and secure from vulnerabilities. Security and product advisories along with end of support or end of development are just a few that can help prevent impacts to the network.
5. Greater Sustainability
Retailers are not immune to the rising focus of contributing to a more sustainable future. Properly disposing of IT assets can not only be time consuming but also bare the risk of regulatory and financial penalties if not done properly. HPE GreenLake for Networking reduces the exposure to these risks by helping to return, extend, or refresh the equipment when the contract ends. Customers can support their sustainability goals more easily by using the HPE GreenLake for Networking recycling program which helps manage the complex process of repurposing the equipment and allows for proper disposal, which can be costly.
Why Partners Should Talk about NaaS to Retailers?
Additional thoughts for partners to have a compelling business conversation with retailers include:
- Using NaaS to address a retailer’s unique challenges can help position you as a trusted advisor, bringing you closer to the account and building your personal and competitive value.
- Helping retailers avoid overprovisioning infrastructure and eliminate expenses for technology refreshes can be accomplished by designing and delivering a NaaS solution that addresses retailer use cases quickly and easily.
- Based on a retailer’s networking infrastructure needs, one NaaS offering can open other opportunities – from wireless to wired to SD WAN.
- Increasing your margins by wrapping your Day 0, 1, 2 professional services around our HPE GreenLake for Networking subscription. Imagine the payoff for large, distributed retailers with hundreds of stores!
- From understanding customer shopping patterns to leveraging in store or warehouse insights, using HPE GreenLake for Networking to gather relevant data and share insights delivers additional value to your retail customers. Data is king in retail.
Remember, GreenLake for Networking is NOT just a lease with managed services added on top. It is a complete NaaS offering that provides greater flexibility and more proactive management capabilities, while minimizing upfront working capital. In short, HPE GreenLake for Networking is about driving valuable outcomes for all departments and LoB in retail, from finance and operations to human resources and even corporate social responsibility.
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Related Resources
How to use NaaS in a Managed Service Environment
Partner Sales: Best Practices for Selling Network as a Service
Why should Partners sell Network as a Service
