Retailers prioritize infrastructure readiness to support AI scaling

As artificial intelligence transitions from pilot projects to daily operations, retail leaders are being urged to prioritize underlying infrastructure and network readiness over the AI applications themselves.

Simone Chetcuti of BT Business suggests that retailers must first ensure their networks can support the massive data requirements of technologies like computer vision, RFID, and edge computing. Without a robust network foundation, scaling AI across physical stores and e-commerce platforms becomes difficult.

Similarly, industry insights from Tech Show Paris indicate that AI is shifting infrastructure discussions to the boardroom. The focus is moving from simple cloud adoption to complex workload strategies, where retailers must decide which specific tasks—such as demand forecasting or real-time in-store analytics—are best suited for cloud, on-premise, or hybrid environments to ensure data is available and trusted at the moment of decision-making.