{"id":69468,"date":"2022-01-12T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/industry\/blog\/?p=69468"},"modified":"2023-07-25T09:41:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T16:41:58","slug":"microsoft-cloud-for-retail-and-the-role-of-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/retail\/2022\/01\/12\/microsoft-cloud-for-retail-and-the-role-of-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Cloud for Retail and the role of partners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s that time of the year again. Not to start a gym membership or return gifts\u2026it’s that time of year where retailers reflect on holidays past and question if there was room to do more for their customers: faster delivery, seamless returns, relevant recommendations, efficient customer service without the pain of waiting and listening to hold music. There is a myriad of opportunities to deliver a better shopper experience equating to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As omnichannel shopping causes data complexity (pandemic aside), the solutions to achieve a customer golden record<\/a> need to be simplified. Every retailer strives to meaningfully connect with customers to ensure they come back. However, achieving customer satisfaction is directly linked to a retailer’s team on the front line. The best online targeting can be overturned by a front-line worker left without the tools they need to effectively serve a customer in the store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In essence, it comes down to people and data. The way retailers empower their people, and the effectiveness of their data analytics are today’s problems. Those retailers who have invested in both continue to reap the benefits as they hone their data analytics and front-line worker capabilities year on year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Cloud for Retail now available<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Cloud for Retail<\/a>, with general availability on February 1, comes out of the gate with a focus on data analytics and the front-line worker with the goal of serving customers better across their shopping journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retailers are asking for composable solutions that result in higher customer satisfaction and greater share of wallet. We have removed the complexity, clarified every value as one felt by the shopper, and paired Microsoft’s technology with our partners to reduce time to market. All while ensuring privacy, security, and regulatory compliance for retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Cloud for Retail helps retailers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Maximize the value of their data.<\/li>
  2. Elevate the shopping experience.<\/li>
  3. Empower the retail frontline worker.<\/li>
  4. Build a real-time, sustainable supply chain.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The role of partners in our industry cloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Our System Integrator (SIs) partners at launch include\u00a0Accenture\/Avanade<\/a>, DXC Technology<\/a>, KPMG<\/a>, TCS<\/a>, among others whose solutions are listed in the Microsoft Cloud for Retail AppSource Catalog<\/a>. These global SIs lend their consulting prowess combined with their engineering logic to implement the entire Microsoft Cloud for Retail offering or discreet components that map to a retailer’s core priorities. We have equipped them with the know-how to bring Microsoft Cloud for Retail to life through removing data silos, reducing data duplication, and facilitating analytics that will deliver more robust business intelligence as well as greater predictive accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At launch, our Independent Software Vendor (ISVs) partners possess deep technical interoperability with Microsoft Cloud for Retail. Their participation enables data congruence across our industry cloud thereby ensuring that customers can realize greater analytics confidence across their own data, the data procured across Microsoft, and the data within our partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As we look across Microsoft Cloud for Retail, our partners offer distinct services within each aspect of the shopper journey:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Maximize the value of your data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Realize the true value of your data by unifying disparate data sources across the shopper journey, discovering insights that enable better experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n