Buzz words come and go in the business world, but digital transformation is a term that has staying power. It defines the convergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) with the emergence of smart buildings and the new blueprint for businesses, retailers, banks, fitness centers, hotels, hospitals, universities and entertainment venues to be reimagined-– creating digitally connected spaces, cultural change and immersive customer experiences.
Worldwide spending on technologies and services that enable the digital transformation of business practices, products, and organizations is forecast to reach $1.97 trillion in 2022, according to IDC.
At the core of it all is the cloud—a logical place for many companies to start their digital journeys. Cloud storage, hosting, remote monitoring and analytics have all been around for decades, but now they need to run together seamlessly. Cloud computing allows businesses to modernize their IT infrastructure; share and store data more efficiently; create built-in security, and offer new ways to digitally serve customers. The key today is the connection across platforms—cloud, mobility, visual technologies, and big data, to name a few.
The cornerstones of this digital transformation include four major elements: digital signage, professional AV, cohesive physical security solutions (surveillance, access control, and secure network infrastructure), and collaborative communication that unite the industry’s top AV, IT and CE technologies.
At retail for instance, there is a greater connection between front-of-store and back-room technologies—meaning these were once treated as separate spaces and now must be linked to provide an engaging experience for the consumer. The areas once divided into POS (point of sale), signage, security, inventory management, and IT must now not only connect, but do it intelligently. The goal is to provide shoppers with an improved overall experience to encourage more shopping time, repeat visits and ultimately, increased sales.
The advances created with cloud, IoT and now 5G encourage an even greater level of customized experience and give spaces almost limitless opportunity to engage with consumers. Integration of mobile devices and wearables take it a step further. Imagine a consumer who can enjoy the benefits of current information—daily sales, product reviews or cost comparisons—while they’re in the store ready to make a purchase.
At the same time, envision a store that is able to merchandise based on heatmapping and demographics and then discreetly target consumers that have interest in a certain product type. Or, picture being able to provide promotions on overstock products or conclude sales of stock-out products on the fly. Digital signage kiosks can also offer support for the transactional part of the sale so that employees can focus on the relational part of the interaction. All of this is possible through increased capabilities and fully integrated solutions like heatmapping, sensor technology, analytics and augmented reality.
Today more companies are striving to be part of this exciting evolution as a growing number of executives recognize digital transformation as a long-term and valuable investment. Decision makers need to channel this ambition for change and take the next step, which means finding a go-to source to package everything together.
“At Synnex, our goal is to provide partners with best-in-class solutions that are cohesive and fully integrated,” said Sandi Stambaugh, Vice President of Product Management for Synnex. “Consumers expect immersive and intelligent experiences, so integrators have to be able to fully deliver on that.”
Not only does Synnex VisualSolv ( https://www.synnexcorp.com/us/visualsolv/) offer a product and services portfolio focused on enabling companies to build out truly robust experiences to exist in today’s high-tech spaces, but also their experienced advisors to provide the support required to initiate and execute projects that are seamless and successful.
“IoT is about building a simple, core solution that’s both extensible and scalable,” says Rob Moyer, Senior Vice President of Cloud Services, Mobility and IoT for Synnex. “Start with a problem that needs to be solved and continue to add to it. Let Synnex be your general contractor that brings together various manufacturers to build a fully integrated solution to help digitally transform spaces for your customers.”
This article was sponsored by Synnex Corporation.