This is the latest in a series of posts featuring partner success stories where partners share how they're helping customers achieve their goals by using Cisco technology. This week we're featuring Richard G. Twilley, CenturyLink Vice President, Business Markets Sales, Eastern Region.

Imagine you're anticipating the holidays and shopping for the children in your life. You, of course, have a smartphone in your hand.  When you realize you'll face a crowded line just to take home the hottest toy of 2013, you simply tap your phone's screen to put the toy on layaway.

Now think about the technology and the data crunching required to push personalized coupons, suggested shopping lists, location-based sales, news and information to smartphones. Retailers are harnessing Big Data and mobility to develop stronger relationships with customers.

With technology evolving faster than ever before, and the increasing sophistication and complexity of a modern network, more companies, retailers among them, are turning to managed services and the cloud to deliver transformational solutions that enhance the customer experience and drive profitability. 

What Cisco partners should be aware of

Retail IT spending is predicted to keep growing at a healthy clip, and demand for managed services is growing even more quickly, underscoring retailers' needs for expertise. Technology consulting services will increase in importance as networking-based solutions become more complex and play a bigger role driving business outcomes.

In a recent Forbes article, "Why the cloud is making BYOD risk-free," there's been another unsung hero of the mobility, or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), movement, and that hero is the cloud. The Cloud enables easy, safe and accessible data analysis and storage.

What is top-of-mind for retail IT leaders?

• Cloud:The retail industry is not alone in addressing business technology and data volume challenges with cloud solutions. Using the cloud to power data analytics and personalized or mobile marketing creates efficiencies and enhances the shopping experience.
• Network Infrastructure:With the explosion of ecommerce, network infrastructure moved from a back-office function to a critical enabler for retailers' relationships with customers and prospects. Emerging technologies rely on solid, reliable network infrastructure to power point-of-sale applications and critical software. When retailers open their wireless networks, shoppers can use them to avoid incurring wireless voice and data charges from their carrier.
• Mobility and Extending the Border:With more customers checking inventory from mobile devices to see what's in stock before entering a store, and with promotions received while at home or work enticing customers to go shopping, extending the network beyond the location continues to be a priority.

Innovative services, integrated product offerings and unparalleled expertise from CenturyLink, delivered as managed services, help many of the world's largest and most admired companies transform their technology with greater sophistication, security and speed, and at a lower cost, than they could achieve on their own.

How are you helping your customers in the retail space improve shopping experiences through technology?