Retailers with multiple branches may suffer if their connections with head office are not sufficient to handle the increased level of transactions at this busy time of year. Entanet notes that private WANs (PWANs) – using a variety of connection types, from DSL and fibre broadband as well as EFM, GEA and leased lines – have become an increasingly popular choice with retailers, as they strengthen business operations and speed of service to customers.
The company has also seen strong growth in orders from resellers for Ethernet services from retail companies looking to support large volumes of data traffic between data centres, distribution hubs and suppliers.
The importance of having a sufficient amount of available and reliable bandwidth at this time of the year makes it the ideal time to raise customer awareness of upgrade options, says Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing at Entanet.
“Every retailer is looking to maximise their sales ahead of Christmas and to do that they need to monitor sales in as near to real-time as possible, so they can manage order priorities and replenish stocks swiftly. Add to that the need to provide a 24/7 service to customers ordering online either for direct delivery or for collection in-store and the desire to more accurately predict demand and keep costs down by using just-in-time delivery, and it is easy to see why fast, consistent, reliable communications are absolutely critical to successful retail operations.
“While there might not be time for retailers to upgrade to certain types of connectivity because of order lead times ahead of the Christmas rush, any issues that they do confront during this period will put the spotlight on the importance of their connectivity. It’s between November and January that connectivity really matters for retailers – that makes it the ideal time to highlight the benefits of services that offer higher performance and SLAs.”
Farnden sees ongoing sales opportunities for partners right across the board. “While larger retailers are always going to be attracted by the higher-speed, un-contended leased line services and private WANs, individual stores may find EFM, GEA or high-speed DSL services are sufficient for their back-office operations. Every situation will be different of course. As we have our own network, we have the flexibility to work with our partners to tailor connectivity solutions to fit the exact needs of retail customers.”