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Hot Applications For SaaS In Retail Dorf agrees that the agility of data access and analysis afforded by the cloud is fueling its adoption. Leveraging SaaS-based analytics tools, he says, allows retail tech shops to move away from mundane IT tasks and refocus their efforts on real retail work. "SaaS lightens the load on IT by removing the burdens associated with backups, audits, upgrades, and security management. Business insight afforded by SaaS-based analytics tools affords retailers a really good understanding of the data they already have," says Dorf. "As we add more analytics capabilities via the cloud, we can grant that access more quickly via automatic upgrades, which dramatically reduces the retailer's time to value." Because these tools are offered in a pay-only- for-what-you-use style fashioned after the utilities model, retailers can strategically and incrementally build on their data analytics initiatives at their own pace. "Retailers have been sitting on a lot of Big Data for a long time. SaaS-based analytics applies 'Big Science' to that Big Data, allowing merchants to finally extract value from it," says Dorf.

The retailer chose Oracle Retail Xstore (formerly Oracle's MICROS Xstore), which allows for a wide range of customizations without code changes or help from the vendor. LIDS also rolled out Oracle Retail Order Broker (formerly Oracle's MICROS Locate), which allows stores to view each other's inventory in real time and also streamlines shipment. Indeed, Havlik states that e-commerce reaped almost instant rewards as a result of the Order Broker implementation. "As many as 800 stores became available online, and customers found that capability right away - the orders started piling in," Havlik says. "We literally doubled the amount of available UPCs for a customer to order."

...even as today's retail world becomes more complex, the calm at the center of this storm is a return to retailing basics: laying down an IT foundation that automates a number of critical business processes, so that retailers can deliver to both consumers and associates the services they need, when and how they need them.

...Just recently, I had the opportunity to talk to Jill (Puleri) Standish, SVP and GM, Oracle Retail Global Business Unit, about the tech giant's newest product launch, and in true Oracle fashion, it's big. At the show, Oracle will unveil a new release of its entire suite of Oracle Retail solutions...

"Today, whether shopping for an item, making reservations, examining a bill, evaluating projects, or viewing medical information, the digital age has brought us to a point where we now expect the ability to make real-time decisions, transact, and customize options at the tap of the screen. In the new service-driven economy, innovative enterprises must focus on two things: taking care of their customers and taking care of their employees," said Bob Weiler, executive vice president, Global Business Units, Oracle.

"Today, whether shopping for an item, making reservations, examining a bill, evaluating projects, or viewing medical information, the digital age has brought us to a point where we now expect the ability to make real-time decisions, transact, and customize options at the tap of the screen. In the new service-driven economy, innovative enterprises must focus on two things: taking care of their customers and taking care of their employees," said Bob Weiler, executive vice president, Global Business Units, Oracle.