Like most people today, retailers have probably heard of the Internet of Things (IoT). After all, “IoT” is one of the most popular networking acronyms used today. However, retailers might not be aware of what impact IoT will have on the way they run their business.
The Internet of Things is comprised of an increasingly large number of purpose-built Internet connected devices for all sorts of services, from intelligent dressing-room call buttons to entryway people counters.
The scope of retail businesses is broad. Each sector may have somewhat differing requirements and to complicate matters, the features of possible IoT solutions are virtually endless (many not invented yet). Many of these IoT devices will be equipped with Wi-Fi, making it straightforward to integrate into a retailer’s corporate WLAN.
So, how does a retailer prepare to take advantage of these varied solutions exploding onto the retail market?
There are a large variety of businesses that are classified as “retail”, including these:
Class of RetailerExample General merchandise stores Macy’s, Sears, CVS, Big-5, etc. Grocery stores Safeway, Lucky, Kroger, Albertsons, etc. Big-Box stores (superstores) Walmart, Target, Costco, etc. Specialty stores Borders, Starbucks, Petco, Office Max, Victoria’s Secret, etc. Restaurants Olive Garden, Denny’s, Applebee’s, etc. Non-Storefront (Internet sales) Amazon, Overstock.com, eBay, etc.Even with this diversity of businesses, there are broader sets of generic IoT solutions that have general cross-sector applicability. Outside of unique vertical market solutions, the following IoT classes of solutions can help lower TCO and increase productivity for most retailer operations.
These solutions fall into two major deployment categories:
Back-office:
- Telemetry (reporting temperature, pressure, time, and humidity threshold transitions)
- Facility climate control (managing air conditioning – heating and cooling)
- Stock inventory management (tracking stock levels, location of critical equipment, and auto-generating replenishment orders)
- Facility security (support for security cameras, door and window status monitors, and time clocks)
Customer facing:
- Wireless registers (includes kiosks and temporary sales registers)
- Wireless printers (customer accessible wireless printers)
- Customer self-price checkers (departmental wireless price checkers)
- Pricing/advertising displays (HD video displays used for in-facility advertising)
No matter how bright the future may be painted concerning new product solutions, there may be some risks involved, especially in a nascent market such as IoT. The risk involved with intelligent IoT solutions has already been demonstrated with the hacking of the Target system where approximately 40 million customers had debit/credit card numbers stolen.
This was accomplished, of all things, by hacking through the heating and air conditioning system! The thieves found a way to hack into the IoT-based HVAC system and gain access to Target’s internal network. There were a number of missteps on Target’s part, but the main vulnerability was found in the permissions allowed to the IoT-based system. Network security needs to be high on the assessment list when considering any IoT solution.
How Retail can prepare for IoT
To maximize the benefit of IoT integration:
- Understand the current workflow and identify possible operational “choke” points - front and back office, including both network and manual-based processes currently employed.
- Investigate the emerging IoT solutions that might be used in your network: i.e., telemetry devices, inventory sensors for automation of fulfillment services, etc.
- Identify operational areas for improvement via wireless LAN IoT connectivity.
- Make plans for deploying an 802.11ac network - this increases the data rate significantly enough to meet the client congestion demands, raw data rate demands of voice and video, and added traffic from IoT devices.
- Thoroughly investigate 3rd party IoT solutions for possible integration security problems. Firewall IoT devices and restrict them to specific resources available on the WLAN.
- Invest in a WLAN solution that provides detailed monitoring and visibility of exactly which applications and resources each IoT device is accessing in real time.
IoT is coming rapidly to retailers, where it can be used to help lower operating costs and improve operational performance across the board.
Those retailers that understand and deploy IoT intelligently will see major gains in their businesses, but the planning must include an understanding of the impact on security and throughput demand for the WLAN.
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To read more about how to prepare for IoT, see these past posts:
How to design your WLAN for IoT in eight smart steps
Designing a WLAN for IoT? Define your requirements first
How to secure Internet of Things devices on a Wi-Fi network