Fueling Retail Innovation, Microsoft Convergence, Azure IoT Suite and Windows 10 Availability!

We predicted in January that 2015 would bring incredible change and innovation in the retail industry—especially around how retailers interact with their customers including modern POS devices. Today, we have some powerful new examples to share of how technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming business—even in retail operations that have expensive legacy infrastructure and technologies.

Our top news this month includes how Texas-based convenience store chain Kwik Check is pioneering new personalized experiences for its customers by connecting their mobile phones to gas pumps, store POS, loyalty programs and more, while integrating existing store infrastructure and software that tracks inventory and fuel. They have upended expected standards for engagement and loyalty and in the process creating exceptional business value that has the potential to redefine the convenience industry.

Another real-world example is big box retailer Lowe’s who used AccuWeather’s detailed forecasting to get its trucks and much needed inventory out ahead of this winter’s challenging conditions. And on the subject of deliveries, JJ Food Service is using temperature sensors in its delivery trucks to ensure food temps can be monitored right to the customer’s door. In their new video, they also talk about how they were able to tap into their existing data to anticipate the orders of its 60,000 customers.

We also have a new four-part video series with consumer products giant Henkel exploring the global manufacturer’s move to the cloud, detailing the nearly 140-year-old company’s transformation to a connected enterprise with Office 365. And Goodyear Tires’ CIO takes us on a behind-the-scenes look at how their company became more collaborative by using Office 365 as well.

We’ve also had a mix of noteworthy product-related news recently, much of it happening at Microsoft’s annual Convergence business community summit. Here are the CliffNotes. Our CEO Satya Nadella kicked off the event with a keynote address highlighting how businesses can use data to help predict trends and better understand their customers, which can lead to greater demand for their products and services as well as increased customer loyalty.

Microsoft also unveiled a number of new products and services for industries and organizations including the Azure IoT Suite, a cloud-based tool for the Internet of Things, and Windows 10 for IoT. In addition, Power BI and Office Delve are being rolled out globally, and Microsoft is bringing business collaboration to a whole new level through Skype for Business, with a technical preview now available. You can read more in this wrap up blog post.

Beyond all the excitement at the show, there are a couple other items to note.

In big developer news, Microsoft launched Azure App Service, a new cloud-based service that helps developers quickly build Web and mobile apps for any platform and any device. The solution integrates the Microsoft Azure Websites, Mobile Services and BizTalk Services into a single service with a common app hosting, runtime and extensibility model. It’s available as a free trial.

And last but not least, Windows 10 will launch this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages around the world. And we’re offering a free upgrade for hundreds of millions of customers running Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 for the first year after it’s released!

Thanks for checking out this April edition of our Retail & CG highlights. We’ll update you again in June.

Until then, you can check out our two recent webcasts for retail and consumer goods. And peruse the session catalog for this summer’s upcoming Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. It’s now available here!