Donna Armstrong, COO “Why on earth would a CIO care about POS solutions from you guys? Isn’t that the CMO or Corporate Sales Manager’s responsibility?” The person asking this question was my brother, a senior advertising copywriter with years of experience meeting the demands of sales and marketing clients.
I explained to him that-in the age of smartphones and consumer-facing digital everything-it has increasingly become the CIO’s responsibility to research and implement omnichannel retail solutions that will capture customers anywhere and anytime (online, in-store, locally or even as they travel) and provide these customers with a consistently enjoyable shopping experience at all times.
And yet, I would go even farther and call it more than a responsibility for CIOs and IT decision makers. It’s an unprecedented opportunity.
Even the internationally respected Wall Street Journal has specifically called attention to the growing importance of the CIO in today’s business world. In a recent special Journal Report, WSJ reporter, Steven Rosenbush wrote, “The role of Chief Information Officer is a barometer of business change. A few years ago, as smartphones, cloud computing and social media sowed confusion-and widespread questions about the future of the CIO position itself. Now, the CIO is in demand as never before. The rise of the CIO is a sign of the new digitally driven business environment, one of great opportunity and no small measure of risk.”
During the annual WSJ CIO Network meeting in San Francisco in early March, Sun Microsystems co-founder, Vinod Khosla, told attendees, “Technology is driving change and the CIO is best positioned to lead. No one else is qualified.”
Technology is driving change and the CIO is best positioned to lead. No one else is qualified
While this might be news to some, the critical importance of powerfully configurable POS solutions is certainly well-known to a growing number of CIO leaders of major luxury, fashion and specialty retail brands like those on the growing list of Cegid clients, including Leica, Quicksilver, Furla, Vilebrequin, Seattle Seahawks, Lacoste, Crunch, Ted Baker, Sweaty Betty, Barbour, Longchamp, Paul Smith and an impressive lineup of other market leaders.
In this exciting new world of connected commerce, I’m fortunate to be a part of the Cegid (pronounced “See Jid”) team. As a global SaaS publisher with a highly specialized catalog of applications and expertise at providing state-of-the-art solutions to specific industries including luxury and specialty retail brands, I see first-hand how our POS solutions are not just solving the needs of CIOs, but far exceeding their wildest expectations.
It’s not by accident that we promise our clients that they will “Never Miss a Sale.” So how can we make such an audacious promise?
Because top Cegid engineers have designed powerfully configurable software that features in-store, omnichannel POS solutions, merchandise management, cloud and on-demand (never down) accessibility, inventory management, mobile commerce compatibility, robust clienteling, CRM & loyalty capabilities, pricing & sales promotions, POS & store management and much more.
The retail customer of today-your customer-wants to shop at any time, from anywhere; in-store, online, or using any internet connected device. They want to be recognized, served and rewarded for their patronage. Because they want control of their shopping experience, omnichannel commerce is not an option to your brand, it’s a requirement. The good news is that Cegid is empowering CIOs everywhere to mobilize their brand-to empower their customers-with a connected retail experience anywhere in the world, in real time.
From the confusion in my brother’s voice when we finished talking, he still doesn’t get it. I’m just happy that CIOs who discover Cegid do.
