Cloud services in retail

Cloud computing (world market)

Main article: Cloud computing (world market)

2020: Leaders of the world market of cloud services for retail

In August, 2020 the Canalys analytical company released the research devoted to the market of cloud services in retail. Experts carried out the assessment of activity of the largest cloud providers in spheres of e-commerce and retail, their products, clients, partners and also general strategy of work are studied.

For retailers Google is called the leading supplier of cloud services. Explaining the opinion, analysts pointed to several advantages of Google Cloud:

• vertical strategy in which retail occupies one of the predominating places;
• active set of employees for cloud division of Google;
• attraction of the increasing number of partners of Google Cloud, including system integrators.

In a research it is reported that several large retailers, including Costco, Metro Cash & Carry and Target are among clients of Google Cloud. Using the opportunities in the field of advertizing and search, Google Cloud can offer retail clients much more, than just computing resources and storage, specialists said.

The Canalys company made the rating of leaders of the world market of cloud services for retail

The second place in the market of cloud services for retail to Canalys was given by Microsoft companies. According to experts, the Microsoft Azure platform well proved among the large companies. In it more than 2 thousand specific applications for retailers who are available through an extensive partner network are offered.

According to researchers, Amazon dominates in all cloud market, however the company concedes in a riteylersky segment to Google and Microsoft, despite long-term experience and the unique affiliate program. The main problem for Amazon - many retailers see in the company of the competitor, it develops one of the world's largest online hypermarkets and aims to develop in offline - trade.

By August, 2020 Alibaba continues to shift focus from the Chinese market in which the company unconditionally dominates, towards Europe and other regions where Alibaba builds infrastructure and partnership. But strain of relations of the People's Republic of China and the USA complicates penetration of Alibaba into some countries.

Now, more than ever earlier, retailers need digital strategy for a victory in the omnichannel world, especially taking into account domination of Amazon on the Internet — the senior director of Canalys Alex Smith says. — Digital technologies are applied everywhere - from customer service to cost optimization. The general technological capabilities are what will define success of the retailer.

Google is called by the market leader of cloud services in retail. Follow Microsoft, Amazon, Alibaba and IBM (data of Canalys)

According to the report of Canalys, the pandemic of a coronavirus of COVID-19 struck at retail and forced market participants to adapt to new normality, having focused on e-commerce. Due to the development of Internet channels of sales cloud services become one of the main tools helping sellers to support and increase business and also to implement key technologies.

The analyst of Canalys Blake Murray believes that retailers look for cloud providers who not only helped to increase business amount, but also to switch to the innovation platforms.

The cloud provider who has specialized support groups and an ecosystem of the partners implementing innovations from his name instills in clients confidence in cooperation — he noted.

Analysts consider that as retail is in vanguard of use of cloud computing, in addition to standard IaaS-services (cloud DPCs and different types of data warehouses), it began to use cloud solutions on the basis of artificial intelligence (AIaaS), to work with Big Data, the products Data science as a service (DSaaS) and also platform services (PaaS) and cloud applicaions (SaaS) created on their basis.^[1]

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