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With Hughes, Retail and Hospitality Business Can See the Cloud's Silver Lining

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At Hughes we know how retailers and hospitality operators increasingly see cloud computing as a chance to bring themselves big advantages in cost, flexibility and resilience.

Everything from customer relationship management (CRM) to accounting or point-of-sale solutions is going into the cloud, meaning the data and the applications driving value from it are lodged in computing facilities run by Amazon, Google or a host of others.

In theory, using the cloud should be pain-free but too often the connectivity that makes everything work is neglected, resulting in excessive bills or applications that drag a business down by running at a snail’s pace.

At Hughes we take a straightforward approach to connectivity. Here are ten reasons why Hughes excels in connecting retail or hospitality businesses with the cloud:

  • Firstly, we have the expertise that will accurately assess each business’ individual bandwidth requirements and match connectivity to what is required so that costs are kept down and data speeds never drop.

  • Hughes’ managed services approach will ensure that a retailer or hospitality operator pays for no more cloud connectivity than it requires, while retaining a high-performance set of applications, including point-of-sale, management or accounting systems.

  • Hughes, understands that development such as the growth of mobility solutions in hospitality and retail or the accessing of video content can eat up a lot of data leading to unexpectedly high costs.

  • We also know the use of Wi-Fi devices in seasonal rushes places considerable demands on connectivity. This has implications for bandwidth and Hughes will make an accurate assessment that takes such fluctuations into account


 

  • As a managed services provider, Hughes will be upfront and say it is preferable for certain applications to be retained on-premises because of their criticality and constant use. This is the hybrid approach to the cloud that combines applications and data kept on premises (such as highly-sensitive customer databases) with data and applications in the cloud. Hughes will supply the connectivity to make this work.

  • But we can also advise when connectivity requirements can be scaled back without affecting performance by restricting the use of certain applications to set times of the day or week.

  • We have the experience and knowledge of the market to assess whether a retailer or hotelier’s cloud applications can function well via a standard ADSL internet connection or whether a VDSL connection will be required to provide higher speeds.

  • Experience shows that all organisations believe they should have more bandwidth. Unfortunately it also shows that if they install the fastest type of connection to provide it, which is typically fibre, project costs can soon over-run.

  • Hughes will ensure that if fibre is required, the costs of its operation will be kept to the minimum required for optimal operations. We can ensure that fibre connectivity matches the unique characteristics and requirements of each business and does not saddle it with bills for unused bandwidth.

  • Unlike others, we can provide satellite connectivity for retailers, hoteliers or hospitality operators who have dispersed or remote locations or where the telecommunications infrastructure is basic or unreliable.

If your retail or hospitality business is about to make important decisions about moving into the cloud contact me now at [email protected]

Remember – making the wrong moves could result in rocketing costs, crashing performance-levels and huge damage to a business. Getting it right will ensure the cloud really does have a silver lining for your business.