# Retailers Weighed Down by their own Legacy Systems, survey reveals
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2016-09-08
Category: TECHNOLOGY
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/technology
Meta Title: Retailers Hit by Legacy Systems: New Investment in IT Needed
Meta Description: Discover how legacy systems are holding back retailers from achieving their growth goals. Learn why 36% struggle to scale up quickly and why cloud technology
URL: https://financedigest.com/retailers-weighed-down-by-their-own-legacy-systems-survey-revealshtml

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_Growth hampered and made worse by IT in-house skills shortages_

Research has today revealed legacy systems are causing retailers to miss their business growth goals.

Worryingly, the survey by Redcentric shows almost 40 per cent of retail businesses believe their growth plans have been hindered by their internal legacy systems, stating the technology isn’t flexible enough to meet today’s demands.

Similarly, 36 per cent of retailers say they are unable to scale up as quickly as they would like, making it almost impossible to deal with peaks in demand, such as during [Black Friday](https://www.financedigest.com/cost-of-living-crisis-casts-shadow-over-europes-black-friday.html "Cost-of-living crisis casts shadow over Europe’s Black Friday") and the Christmas rush. Unsurprisingly, more than half the respondents are currently looking into cloud technology to stop this failure from reoccurring.

Simon Michie, CTO of Redcentric, says: “Retailers [need](https://www.financedigest.com/time-has-run-out-3ds2-is-here-and-retailers-need-to-be-on-board.html "Time has run out – 3DS2 is here and retailers need to be on board ") to be agile enough to engage with their customers across multiple channels and ensure the service they deliver is fast, efficient and accurate at all times. To do that, it’s vital a [robust but flexible IT systems](https://www.financedigest.com/emissions-monitoring-systems-market-poised-to-expand-at-a-robust-pace-over-2017-2025.html "Emissions Monitoring Systems Market Poised to Expand at a Robust Pace Over 2017-2025") architecture is in place. New investment in IT is the key to this but many are being [held back](https://www.financedigest.com/burberry-held-back-by-china-lockdowns-and-u-s-weakness.html "Burberry held back by China lockdowns and U.S. weakness") by the lack of skills and training of their own in-house IT teams.”

Indeed, the survey reveals that 76 per cent of respondents plan to spend more on IT infrastructure and networks in 2016 than they did [last year](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-new-car-sales-rise-in-january-full-year-sales-to-top-last-year-smmt.html "UK new car sales rise in January, full-year sales to top last year – SMMT"), highlighting that retailers understand the importance of improving their current systems to drive further growth.

Simon adds, “For many businesses, the [cloud is very appealing and offers a raft of potential](https://www.financedigest.com/french-cloud-provider-ovh-lines-up-diesel-generators-to-offset-potential-power-cuts.html "French cloud provider OVH lines up diesel generators to offset potential power cuts") benefits. The easy scaling up of additional capacity, the [move to an opex spending model](https://www.financedigest.com/the-dressing-vinegar-and-condiments-market-to-move-towards-healthcare-models-of-convenience.html "The Dressing Vinegar And Condiments Market To Move Towards Healthcare Models Of Convenience"), the offloading of responsibility to a third party and enterprise grade disaster recovery are just a few of the key advantages organisations will feel once cloud has been adopted.

“These are challenging [times for retailers](https://www.financedigest.com/finger-pointing-helps-no-one-it-is-time-for-retailers-energy-providers-and-government-to-band-together.html "Finger-pointing helps no one: it is time for retailers, energy providers and government to band together"). With the march online and the adoption of omnichannel strategies accelerating, competition is intense and retailers [need](https://www.financedigest.com/the-four-pillars-of-data-integrity-what-finance-businesses-need-to-know.html "The four pillars of data integrity: what finance businesses need to know") to stand out from the pack to drive loyalty and win new business,” concludes Simon. “That’s why they need to invest in new technology and why the [cloud can provide the agility they need to build competitive edge](https://www.financedigest.com/using-cloud-based-communications-to-gain-a-competitive-edge.html "Using cloud-based communications to gain a competitive edge") and deliver success both today and also in the future.”


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