Choosing a supplier that offers cloud and in-house IT, frees retailers to concentrate on their core business
Eurostop has seen demand for cloud-based retail solutions increase significantly in 2015, with 75% of new customers selecting cloud. In a paper published today, Eurostop suggests that retailers should select a supplier that allows them to keep their hosting options open when considering retail management systems. Retailers should be able to focus on the systems functionality, and not be constrained by the available IT infrastructure, which may require changes with growth and over time.
Eurostop’s article entitled; “Keep your options open, Cloud vs In-house. Which one is best?” discusses the benefits of cloud versus in-house systems. It claims that while the cloud provides flexible and scalable IT systems for growth, capital investment on in-house servers provide faster access, better control over data and can result in payback within 18 months.
Marcus Ardeman, Sales Executive at Eurostop, said; “As a well-established supplier to the retail sector for over twenty five years, we have seen how customers require varied solutions to support their business at different times. Despite the current trend for cloud, which we are happy to supply, we recommend keeping your options open.
“Ideally retail systems should be available either via the traditional local server method or as a full cloud solution. What is important is that retailers are able to remain flexible and adjust as the business requirements grow and change. At Eurostop we ensure that our clients have a choice between cloud and on-premise solutions, which they can change as their businesses evolve.”
For retail companies considering subscribing to cloud systems, the main benefits are no reliance on fixed servers, real time access to data, scalability and simple software upgrades.
However, some retailers may prefer a local server based infrastructure, due to unreliable ‘internet’ connectivity, for security issues or that is easier to utilise integration tools when all software is stored locally.