ExtremeCloud IQ: 3 Essential Advantages for Retail

Ryan HallManager, Vertical Solutions MarketingJanuary 24th 2020

Extreme Networks delivers the best-in-class solution for small distributed businesses – including retail, convenience stores, gas stations, and quick-service food franchises.  

Extreme currently has tens of thousands of locations actively running our solutions over the cloud. With ExtremeCloud IQ, your organization is equipped with:

  • Flexibility: fits your business and environment needs; public, private, local, or hybrid. 
  • Agility: continuous innovation and delivery at scale. 
  • Security: built for the most risk-sensitive environments and conditions.
  • Breadth: end-to-end network architecture that grows with business needs.
  • Depth: best of breed technology that delivers management, intelligence, and assurance.
  • Quality: robust, always up platform with ML/AI driven automation, and ISO certified.

3 IT Things that Should Matter to You & Your Business

When evaluating cloud networking solutions for your retail environment, ask if your network vendor can support the following:

  1. ISO 27001 Certified 3rd Generation Cloud Technology
  • 3rd generation cloud legacy cloud platform; 11 – 9’s reliability, data durability in a data-driven society
  • Implement microservices architecture vs. server and controller hardware
  • Cloud provider agnostic; compatible with Google, Microsoft, and other software providers
  • Easily deploy a new network in minutes, without dedicated IT resources onsite
  • Scale elastically and automatically as you grow in users and devices, without a reduction in response time or quality of services.
  • Demonstrate resiliency; if a configuration change causes an issue to a device, the change is rolled back automatically
  • Implement and enforce new features in days – not weeks or months
  1. Better Network Architecture and Better License
  • Choose from options in the consolidated package: enterprise-grade routers, switches, and access points all managed from one place
  • Introduce intelligence at the edge in each device, with retail-centric analytics.
  • Install site-survivable WLAN; if you lose your WAN, Extreme stays up and operational
  • Experience flexible licensing

– Cloud subscription is feature-rich with AI/ML, API, and analytics

– Customers see value in our very simple licensing structure

– All features and TAC support are covered with one subscription

– If you miss a payment for a subscription, you and your network stay up

  1. Secure & Simple Networking
  • Private Client Groups (PCG) used in conjunction with Extreme’s Private Pre-Shared Key (PPSK) technology delivers a unique, secure, and simple to manage micro-segmentation networking capability.
  • Provide each mobile device its own privacy key which can be distributed via a captive portal, mass pre-configuration, or via custom onboarding applications.  If a key is compromised, you can disable this key and not affect the rest of the users
  • Simplify security for any mobile device – 802.1X level user authentication identity without the need to configure RADIUS servers, EAP settings, certificates, etc.
  • Implement an ideal security solution for encrypted guest access, BYOD devices, and IoT devices

If you would like to learn more about cloud, check out Why ExtremeCloud IQ for Retail; to explore our curated ‘store in a box’ packages for retail, designed to meet the unique IT requirements of retail businesses, visit our Extreme Retail Select landing page.