Cloud Computing in Retail and Apparel - Thematic Intelligence

Cloud Computing in Retail and Apparel - Thematic Intelligence

Summary

Cloud computing refers to computing delivered as an online service. It encompasses the provision of IT infrastructure, operating systems, middleware, and applications hosted within a data center and accessed by the end-user via the internet. The cloud is now the dominant model for delivering and maintaining enterprise IT resources. Key segments for the retail sector include cloud services, specifically software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS). By integrating cloud services into their businesses, retailers can lower their IT expenses while streamlining processes, increasing efficiency, and improving user experience.

This thematic report takes an in-depth look at the importance of cloud to the retail and apparel sector. Firstly, the value chain section provides an in-depth description of each segment of cloud and outlines the specialist vendors and leading adopters of cloud in the retail and apparel sector.

The challenges section outlines the key challenges currently faced by the retail and apparel sector. This is followed by an impact assessment detailing the areas in cloud where retail companies should focus and outlines how these challenges have accelerated the need for cloud.

The case study section highlights the deployment of cloud within retail and apparel.

A data analysis section provides market size and growth forecasts, mergers and acquisition activity analysis, a cloud timeline, and insight into patents, company filings, and hiring trends.

Finally, the report profiles companies making their mark within the theme.

Key Highlights

The arrival of ecommerce disrupted retail significantly. Retailers are using the cloud to help mitigate the industry challenges they are facing. By leveraging cloud services, retailers can lower their IT expenses while streamlining processes, increasing efficiency, and improving user experience. Cloud tools can also help retailers to develop predictive inventory management and robust logistical insights to customize recommendations. Many retailers have developed in-house cloud divisions that will allow them to better exploit the cloud’s capabilities.

According to GlobalData forecasts, global cloud services revenue for the retail sector was $20.1 billion in 2021 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.1% between 2021 and 2026, reaching $44.2 billion by the end of the period.

Scope

• An overview of the cloud value chain including leaders and challengers for each sub-segment.
• A breakdown of the key challenges in the retail and apparel industry, and how cloud technologies can help to solve them.
• Market size and growth forecasts for cloud split into segments.
• Case studies showing the use cases for cloud across the retail and apparel industry.
• Analysis of alternative data including company filing, patent, and hiring activity.
• A review of the leading adopters of cloud in retail and apparel, the specialist cloud vendors for retail and apparel, and the leading cloud vendors cross-industry.
• Thematic scorecards ranking leading retail and apparel companies on their involvement in key themes, including cloud.

Reasons to Buy

• To understand cloud and its current and future impact on the retail and apparel industry.
• To understand how key challenges the retail and apparel sector faces have accelerated the need for the deployment of cloud.
• To identify the leading cloud adopters and specialist cloud vendors.
• GlobalData’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. It has a proven track record of identifying important themes early, enabling companies to make the right investments ahead of the competition, and securing that all-important competitive advantage.