Whether purchasing appliances online from a big box chain, zucchini at a local farmers market, or anything in between, today’s savvy consumers scrutinize data about product quality, price, and reputation. To attract consumer attention and deliver satisfactory experiences, retailers are utilizing platform engineering to build engaging digital presences and services.
In fact, Gartner projects that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organizations will establish platform teams to facilitate application development and delivery.1 Platform engineers streamline the software development process by curating self-service tools and automating workflows for the infrastructure and systems required to create compelling digital customer experiences. Here are several ways platform engineering is transforming customer engagement.
Timely Customer Targeting
Retailers now have a wealth of customer data and can leverage it for timely marketing campaigns. In a recent report, 50% of surveyed consumers said they’re more likely to purchase from a retailer that reaches out at the right time.2 However, retailers must target real people to realize an ROI—and bots are creating increasing digital “noise” and crowding out revenue channels.
Platform engineering can outfit the development and operation of a retailer’s digital touchpoints with strong bot prevention protocols. Ideally, these protocols apply artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to identify and block credential stuffing and other malicious bot traffic from degrading the collection of valuable customer information.
Provide Exceptional Customer Service
With multiple points of sale, payment methods, and policies, customer service representatives require instant access to a slew of data points from disparate sources to best do their jobs. Platform engineering can construct guardrails for developers to build secure, interconnected internal systems for representatives to process customer requests quickly and accurately. Exceptional customer service is crucial for retail, as 61% of surveyed customers claim they would defect to a competitor after just one bad customer service experience.3
Protect Customer Data
Modern retailers rely on cloud-based applications and containers to manage and process customer orders and transactions. The treasure trove of customer data retailers possess is enticing for bad actors, as 77% of global retail organizations were targeted by ransomware in 2021.4
Platform engineering can empower developers to use infrastructure-as-code with robust, baked-in security protocols when building digital services that interface with sensitive customer data. By automatically flagging suspicious activity, these retail apps can reduce the risk of data breaches to help customers shop with confidence.
Impress Customers with Secure, Modern Retail Experiences with F5 and AWS
With F5 solutions, platform engineering can facilitate optimal AWS environments to build the secure and effective digital services essential for winning customers. F5 helps retailers with solutions such as:
- F5 Distributed Cloud Bot Defense, which eliminates malicious bot traffic before it can hamper outreach efforts with faulty credentials
- F5 NGINX, which enables reliable integrations of AWS environments to ensure crucial functions can access the requisite data for customers assistance
F5 empowers platform engineering to facilitate the development of AWS applications and services that delight customers and secure their data. With AWS-validated competencies in Security, MSSP Level-1, Container, and Networking, F5 enhances cloud-native security so customers can enjoy secure and reliable digital retail experiences.
F5 solutions are available in the AWS Marketplace for easier management, consolidated billing, and a faster time to value.
Sources:
1 Gartner, What is Platform Engineering?, October 2022
2 Vericast, 2022 Retail TrendWatch, June 2022
3 Zendesk, CX Trends 2022, January 2022
4 Sophos, The State of Ransomware in Retail 2022, September 2022
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