Retail 2.0: Are You Ready? The State of Digital Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience in Multi-Site Retail

1. Which of the following infrastructure capabilities does your organisation currently have in place across the majority of its physical locations? (Select all that apply)

Enterprise-grade wireless connectivity (e.g., Wi-Fi 6/6E)
5G network integration
Edge computing infrastructure
On-site compute or micro data centres
Centralised network monitoring and management
IoT-enabled devices or sensors
Secure remote access for IT operations
Automated failover or high availability architecture
ESG / energy optimisation technologies
Digital signage infrastructure (e.g., networked displays, content management systems)
SD-WAN
Guest WiFi with integrated analytics or engagement tools
Visibility across all store sites from a single dashboard

2. What are your organisation’s top infrastructure investment priorities for the next 12–18 months? (Select up to three)

Network upgrades (e.g., bandwidth, reliability)
Cloud migration or optimisation
Security and compliance infrastructure
IoT deployment and enablement
Store-level hardware refresh
Centralised infrastructure management tools
Site-to-site connectivity improvements
Automation or orchestration tools
Energy efficiency or sustainability improvements
Digital signage upgrades or deployment
Guest WiFi monetisation or engagement tools
PCI DSS or cybersecurity compliance enhancements

3. What are the main challenges your organisation encounters when upgrading infrastructure across multiple sites or regions? (Select up to three)

Legacy systems and technical debt
Budget or resource constraints
Vendor fragmentation and integration issues
Third-party or vendor coordination complexity
Internal alignment across departments
Deployment speed and disruption to operations
Limited visibility into site-level performance
Lack of real-time visibility during deployment
Delays from landlords or external property access
Temporary connectivity solutions becoming long term defaults

4. What business outcomes is your infrastructure strategy primarily intended to support? (Select up to three)

Improved customer experience
Operational efficiency and cost reduction
Enhanced security and compliance
Increased agility and scalability
Support for omnichannel or in-store technology initiatives
Business continuity and resilience
Support for ESG / sustainability goals
Data availability for decision-making or analytics
Support for in-store digital experience and engagement initiatives

5. When did your organisation most recently undertake a significant network transformation (e.g., upgrade of wireless, LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, or edge infrastructure)? (Select one)

Within the past 12 months
1–2 years ago
3–5 years ago
More than 5 years ago
No significant transformation to date

6. Which of the following challenges has your organisation encountered during periods of physical or digital growth? (Select all that apply)

Difficulty scaling infrastructure quickly across sites
Network performance degradation during expansion
Security and compliance complexity
Limited internal resources to support growth
Integration issues with legacy systems
Supply chain or vendor delivery delays
Governance complexity across regions (e.g., regulatory compliance)
Difficulty securing and retaining skilled resources
Lack of standardised playbooks for new site deployment

7. What factors are most important when selecting or continuing to work with a technology partner for infrastructure or transformation projects? (Select up to three)

Proven ability to deliver at scale
Sector-specific expertise (e.g., retail, hospitality)
Technical support and responsiveness
Commercial flexibility and pricing
Breadth of integrated solutions
Strategic guidance beyond implementation
Long-term reliability and service quality
Demonstrated innovation and roadmap alignment
Proactive account management or partnership model
Proactive monitoring and issue resolution
Willingness to co-create solutions or pilots

8. How effectively do your current technology partners respond to operational issues or evolving requirements? (Select the most appropriate answer)

Rapid and proactive – issues are often resolved before impact is felt
Generally responsive, but reactive rather than proactive
Slow to respond – requires escalation or repeated follow-up
Variable – depends on the partner or service area
Not applicable – we manage all operations in-house

9. What business impacts has your organisation experienced due to unplanned outages or network disruptions in the past 12 months? (Select all that apply)

Revenue loss from interrupted customer transactions
Negative customer experience or reputational damage
Increased operational costs (e.g., manual workarounds)
Compliance or audit risks
Loss of employee productivity
Disruption to backend systems or integrations
No significant impact experienced
Delayed store openings or refurbishments
Impact on loyalty programme

10. How often does your business experience downtime due to unplanned outages or network disruption? (Select the most appropriate answer)

Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Every 2-5 months
Every 6-12 months
Every 1-2+ years
Never

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