Intel To Invest More Than $100M In Retail IoT

Semiconductor giant Intel has committed to invest more than $100 million over the course of the next five years in the retail industry to connect the physical and virtual components of retail operations.

In a blog post, Intel said it’s launching the new Intel Responsive Retail Platform, which reinforces its effort to integrate the Internet of Things and other technologies into the retail industry. The platform is aimed at helping change how people shop and how shops serve customers.

“Every technology provider knows customers can derive savings and increase manageability and security of client PCs via remote management solutions. In retail, though, the advantages are especially profound. Retail businesses require the highest level of productivity from POS client machines to maximize profitability and deliver exceptional customer service,” Intel wrote.

What’s more, Intel said the security environment is particularly demanding in the retail market, with POS systems constantly at risk of being attacked by sophisticated bad guys. Intel pointed to research from Gartner and CompuCom that found 70 percent of all retail breaches happen at the point of sale. “Technology providers and MSPs working in the retail sector can deliver immediate gains in efficiency, manageability and security with solutions made possible by Intel® Active Management Technology (AMT),” Intel said. “This is built into all new 7th Generation Intel Core vPro processor family platforms.”

While Intel is announcing a new $100 million investment, it has long been a player in the IoT market. In 2015, Intel debuted technology designed for “smart” vending machines — the first gateway specifically geared to that industry.