The Future of Retail Data Storage Infrastructure

Published On: 31st August 2023//4.4 min read//Tags: , , , //

Over the years, mindsets towards onsite IT have changed drastically — particularly when it comes to retail store infrastructure. With a focus on virtualizing their environments and creating more efficient retail data storage, many retailers are moving away from traditional storage infrastructure in favor of solutions that offer de-centralized application control, with centralized management systems.

With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why ensuring the high availability of critical applications across stores has become a hot topic for retailers. System downtime directly impacts the bottom line, leading a number to look for modern retail data solutions to solve this issue.

Still, a significant proportion of retailers spend more time putting out metaphorical fires, than actually fireproofing current retail store infrastructure. All the while, their data and data storage needs continue to grow.

Retail Store Infrastructure: Physical SANs vs. Virtual SANs

Did you know that 56% of shoppers stated that they prefer to shop both online and in-store? Taking this into account, it’s clear to see that the physical store is likely to remain significant for consumers in the foreseeable future.

But not only that. The research also highlights another important factor: the need to invest in effective retail data solutions to help ensure the store environment is kept highly available for its applications and the data they rely on.

Both virtual SANs and physical SANs provide retailers with the shared storage required to achieve high availability in their stores. However, unlike physical SANs, virtual SANs are much more lightweight, reducing a retail organization’s CAPEX and OPEX spending. Virtual SAN solutions require as little as two server nodes per site and remove the single points of failure inherent in a physical SAN.

Many virtual SANs are simple to deploy and manage, requiring no complex, technical expertise. And unlike a physical SAN, they are much more flexible, with hassle-free scaling as the organization’s data inevitably grows.

Additionally, they can enhance a retail store’s agility, empowering them to adapt swiftly to changes in retail demands, while facilitating real-time analysis for informed decision-making.

The Need for Big Data Solutions for Retail

You may have heard the term “big data” being increasingly thrown around today as something that’s both new and significant. But given the complex nature of the data sets that it comprises, it’s no surprise that many retailers without dedicated IT personnel and smaller budgets don’t know much more than that, and can feel intimidated when faced with the prospect of initiating their own big data strategy or even purchasing a big data solution.

The term “big data” refers to the vast and complex sets of data that exceed the capabilities of traditional models of data management and processing tools. Characterized by the three V’s (volume, velocity, and variety), the technology encompasses large volumes of data in structured, semi-structured, or unstructured formats, all generated at a high velocity from diverse sources.

Big data solutions for retail assist in extracting meaningful insights from customer interactions, social media mentions, sales data, and other sources, empowering retailers to make confident, informed decisions that enhance the operation of both their physical stores and brand as a whole.

Leveraging big data unlocks deeper insights into customer data including current interests and movements in-store, superior inventory management, fraud detection, a clearer picture of emerging market trends, and price and marketing optimization.

Gartner predicts the emergence of transformational technologies like AI in retail, unified commerce platforms, algorithmic retailing, and IoT-based store management in just 2 to 5 years. The rise in the use of these new tools for retail further emphasizes the need for big data solutions, with those lagging behind at risk of not being able to provide the same levels of service as their competitors, and being passed up by customers as a result.

Additionally, the analyst firm forecasts the market penetration of these new technologies to be significant. So, for retailers going down the path of leveraging any of these solutions, the need to deploy infrastructure capable of handling the big data produced will be imperative.

Why StorMagic SvSAN?

Designed to address the virtual storage needs of modern retail stores, StorMagic’s virtual SAN solution, SvSAN, successfully addresses the growing data challenge. Providing affordable shared storage that keeps store applications highly available, SvSAN eliminates the need for costly, time-consuming, and complex physical SANs.

Built for the pristine datacenter, harsh distributed environments, and anywhere in between, SvSAN empowers retail organizations in a multitude of ways, providing its users with:

  • Simple: A ‘set and forget’ solution that delivers lightweight high availability with easy deployment and management whether across thousands of retail stores, or just one.
  • Flexible: Gives retailers choice and control, with the option of using existing retail store infrastructure, brand-new hardware, or a mix of both.
  • Reliable: Keeps retail data safe and secure, with 100% uptime even across poor or unreliable networks, and allows for non-disruptive hardware and software upgrades.

For additional information on how harnessing the power of StorMagic SvSAN can help future-proof your retail stores, visit our SvSAN for retail page.

Alternatively, to learn more about how SvSAN works in real life for other retailers, helping them to optimize their systems across hundreds of convenience store locations, check out US retailer, Sheetz’s video testimonial below and case study.


Share This Post, Choose Your Platform!

Recent Blog Posts