NearbyOne: promoting software driven solutions enabling retailers to optimise hardware

Is your retail operation burdened by expensive hardware upgrades and inflexible infrastructure? Are you under pressure to deploy new hardware across diverse locations without fully assessing true performance needs?

Rethinking the approach with edge computing, driven by a software centric approach, can help retailers optimise existing hardware systems, and make informed, value driven investments by determining necessary hardware upgrades. In a retail or QSR setting, especially with multiple locations, there can be many devices like PoS systems, and sensors collecting real-time data on customer behaviour, purchase trends, and inventory levels.

The continuous stream of data can lead to substantial volumes that must be processed and analysed. Handling such a large data load requires extensive hardware within a compatible infrastructure, along with scalable solutions to prevent delays.

Retailers often take the infrastructure heavy approach, focusing on hardware deployments to increase the system’s capacity. While this can appear effective initially, hardware costs can quickly escalate, especially when upgrades are made without assessing actual needs. Many solutions emphasise hardware, often driven by vendors eager to make large-scale sales, which can lead to pushing deployments across all locations.

For example, stores may end up installing 10,000 new PoS systems at hundreds of euros each - even when only certain stores genuinely need them - making this approach financially unsustainable.

NearbyOne: A software-driven edge orchestration solution

A software centric approach offers a balanced alternative by first analysing the existing infrastructure to identify specific performance needs. Through this approach, insights provided by software can recommend targeted hardware upgrades or additions only where necessary, helping retailers control costs and ensuring the value of every investment made on hardware.

NearbyOne, an edge orchestration platform addresses these infrastructure challenges. starting with an initial software assessment. Rather than defaulting to large-scale hardware deployments, the platform evaluates existing systems across multiple locations, identifying areas for optimisation.

The real-time software analysis enables IT teams to make necessary adjustments and improve performance without adding new hardware. By doing so, stores can rely on their current assets and avoid overspending.

For retailers and QSR with high demands during peak times or in specific high traffic locations, NearbyOne can specifically evaluate the location points where additional hardware can yield the most value.

Instead of recommending blanket upgrades, the platform makes targeted hardware recommendations based on actual data, allowing retailers to focus on the areas where enhancements will significantly improve performance.

Consider a large retail chain experiencing slowdowns during peak hours. Traditional methods might suggest a full-scale hardware refresh across all stores, a costly and time-consuming process.

By leveraging NearbyOne’s initial software assessment, IT teams can isolate the performance issues to a few high-traffic locations. With this data, the platform can identify the specific areas needing hardware enhancements, enabling the retailer to selectively upgrade systems for maximum efficiency.

Software enables centralised management system  

The edge orchestration platform works on the principle of centralised management, providing an overall view of both legacy and new infrastructure. This approach simplifies the task of overseeing diverse hardware environments and enables retailers to integrate and manage both existing and new hardware across locations.

With centralised control over devices, the platform allows retailers to maintain flexibility and efficiency without large scale replacements. Additionally, this framework supports scalability, making it easier for retailers to adapt to evolving business needs.

By focusing on specific system needs rather than blanket upgrades, NearbyOne helps retailers maximise their current assets, reduce costs, and implement only essential hardware enhancements.

The software centric approach empowers retailers to make smart, value-based decisions, ensuring their infrastructure investments deliver optimal improvements and support long-term returns. 

Discover what NearbyOne can do for you. Book a 30-minute demo at Retail Technology Show 2025 (2nd-3rd April, Excel London, Booth R57).