Retail
goes rural
In
each edition of Talking Drums we try and focus on a different sector,
the opportunities and challenges of communications, as well as the
success stories. African retail has faced as many challenges as
any other sector in the current economic downturn, and perhaps more
visibly to the eye on our high streets.
However, we
are seeing growth in the retail sector, as organisations look to
expand their footprint into rural Africa. The challenge for retail
outlets, shopping malls, gas stations and major eateries is implementing
a cost-efficient communications infrastructure across new branches
and outlets.
Transactional
applications, such as Point-of-Sale (POS) and ATMs, where there
are short, sharp bursts of traffic that traverse the bandwidth very
quickly, do not need a constant internet connection. These businesses
can benefit from a commercially attractive option, achieved through
high utilisation of low bandwidth.
Gateway's AfricaConnect
for Retail gives remote outlets a flexible satellite solution for
connectivity needs. Applications that are not response-time dependant,
such as the uploading and downloading of store information after
hours (end-of-day statistics, product price specials, display adverts)
can be scheduled, so that multiple remote sites can access and share
the same bandwidth.
Based upon VSAT
(Very Small Aperture Terminal) technology, using both C band and
the Ku band spectrum of satellite, retailers can share a link among
branches for non-time-sensitive communications. With AfricaConnect
for Retail, a number of remote sites can be backed up with a pool
of low bandwidth, giving management and HQ the assurance that neither
operations, nor customer service will be affected.
At a time when
retailers are struggling with the current financial environment,
satellite can provide a cost-effective and operationally efficient
answer for organisations across Africa.
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Belgium