as a Service: Empowering Retail Networks

In the dynamic retail landscape, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face unique challenges. From managing multiple locations to ensuring seamless customer experiences, retailers need robust network solutions. BeBroadband™ as a Service, a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) based SD-WAN product, emerges as a game-changer for retailers. Let’s explore how BeBroadband™ transforms retail networks:

The Current State of Retail Networks

The retail landscape is characterized by a diverse technology ecosystem, ranging from legacy data centers to modern Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. Amidst this diversity, retailers encounter several challenges:

• Diverse Technology Landscape: Juggling the needs of legacy systems alongside modern applications poses significant challenges.
• Payment Portal Connectivity: Reliable and secure connections for payment processing are essential for maintaining customer trust.
• Varying Application Needs: The fluctuating bandwidth demands of different applications add complexity to network management. (e.g., High-definition security cameras require more bandwidth compared to inventory management software).
• Multiple User Access Points: Ensuring secure network access for employees and customers using Wi-Fi and IoT devices is crucial.
• Data Segregation: Safeguarding critical financial data requires robust measures to keep it separate from general network traffic.

Challenges and Complexity: Retailers operate across multiple locations, often spread across different territories. Traditional networks struggle to keep up with the demands of this distributed environment. Factors contributing to complexity include:

• Ensure payment portal connectivity: Reliable and secured LAN network to comply with machine-to-machine technologies as self-checkout.
• Connecting legacy data centers to modern SaaS: Adoption of new technologies with no need for data migration.
• Varying application needs: Ensure resilience with critical information stream.
• User access points: Diverse devices connect to the network from inside and outside the branch.
• Data separation: Ensuring guest network traffic doesn’t compromise store security.

Scalability and Resilience: Scalable network solutions are critical for retailers’ success. As businesses expand, the need for robust networks grows. Resilient and well-managed networks are essential for maintaining operations and delivering modern customer experiences.

Remote Data Centers (DC): Retailers increasingly rely on remote data centers:

• These centers handle critical functions like data storage, backups, and disaster recovery.
• They enhance scalability, redundancy, and performance.
• By distributing workloads, retailers ensure uninterrupted operations even during peak shopping seasons.

as a Service: A Game Changer for Retailers:

BeBroadband™ as a Service addresses these challenges with a revolutionary approach based on a SASE architecture. This unified framework seamlessly integrates robust security measures with wide-area networking functionalities, empowering retailers to navigate the complexities of modern retail networks with confidence.

Key Benefits of  as a Service:

• SASE Architecture: Simplifying Security and Connectivity: Streamlined network management, consistent security policies, and optimized data flow.
• WAN Optimization: Enhanced Network Efficiency: Standardized performance, improved data transmission, and better uptime, leading to faster POS transactions and efficient inventory logistics.
• ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access): Uncompromising Security: Safeguarding customer data, streamlining employee access control, and preventing unauthorized network breaches.
• 4 Links Bonding: Unmatched Speed and Resilience: Exceptional speed and reliability across all retail stores through intelligent bonding of broadband and 4G/5G connections. Imagine a scenario where a sudden surge in customer traffic using the in-store Wi-Fi doesn’t impact the performance of your critical inventory management software. BeBroadband as a Service ensures this by optimizing traffic flow.
• Deployment Everywhere: Scalability and Flexibility: Seamless integration and future scalability across any internet connection type, cloud platform, or edge device.
• Multitenancy Management: Simplified Operations: Centralized control and reduced IT workload through a single, self-service portal.

 as a Service Retail Offering:

1. End-to-End Secure Connectivity: Integrated as core components, Check Point’s state-of-the-art Cloud Guard NGFW and the lightweight Nano Agent locally deployed ensure end-to-end secured connectivity. BeBroadband™ as a Service directs the business network through our cloud and performs full network security resilience without interfering with the network.
2. Optimized Network Performance: Uplifting Rohde & Schwarz Ipoque’s next-gen DPI, BeBroadband™ as a Service marks any type of session to be handled based on policies. BeBroadband™ traffic shaping mechanism ensures the best BW allocation and path selection based on traffic type-related performance needed. BeBroadband™ bonding mechanism, leverages any type of connectivity link, cellular and satellite included, to perform a secured tunnel combines up to 4 links, based on the policies selected.
3. Work From Anywhere: BeTNA, the ZTNA work from anywhere solution provides secured connectivity with consideration to the real-time stats of the user. Connected directly to BeBroadband™ as a Service local point-of-presence, the user’s data is fully protected by the same policies and mechanisms in the local branch.
4. Full Isolation for Local Critical Connectivity: Retail’s local networks manage some of the business’s most sensitive data, this data is also critical for the business operations, ensuring that separated networks, BeBroadband™ as a Service provide minimum exposure to business data.
5. Cloud Agnostic: BeBroadband™ as a Service solves the conflict between the need to upgrade their PoS and maintaining their data on-perm. BeBroadband™ as a Service is infrastructure agnostic and provides a full solution on any type of cloud or private data center.
6. Zero CapEx: BeBroadband™ as a Service performs edge computing functions on the locally deployed edge device. As part of BeBroadband™ as a Service suit, Advantech’s next-gen edge appliance is provided as part of the license to provide a perfect experience.

BeBroadband™ as a Service heralds a new era of retail network empowerment. By leveraging its innovative features, retailers can enhance security posture, optimize network performance (by faster transactions), improve operational efficiency (with reduced IT workload), and achieve unmatched flexibility and scalability. BeBroadband™ as a Service is the key to unlocking the full potential of your retail network in today.’