The old ways of reactive network operations—frantic, pulse-pounding manual searches for the cause and effects of outages, and the dread of rollouts that might bring networks crashing downare a source of stress for network operators and IT managers.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Welcome to a new retail network reality made possible by Juniper Mist™ AI: we call it operational zen. Mist AI is leading the era of AI-Native Networking by eliminating stressful manual processes and replacing them with intelligently streamlined and automated network operations. Juniper Mist AI makes retail operations more efficient and— dare we say it—more chill.
How can your IT team achieve operational zen? Let’s look at the three big steps on the path.
Step One: Juniper Mist AI
Mist AI combines AI, machine learning, and data science techniques to optimize user experiences and simplify operations for your network and in your stores. It’s already been in use and continually learning for more than nine years, making it by far the most advanced AI-Native Networking solution on the market. Its capabilities include:
- Reinforcement learning helps consistently deliver amazing network user experiences. For example, RRM (radio resource management) is constantly assessing the network, making tweaks and changes to deliver the best possible user experiences. Let’s say if a temporary store display is placed in front of an access point (AP) and it causes problems with the radio signals, Mist will automatically turn up the power to the APs around it to compensate and readjust the network back again.
- Supervised learning: Mist dynamically collects information from all endpoints (over 150 state changes are captured for each client device and access point every few seconds), and correlates it for quick wireless, wired, and device problem identification. Predictive recommendations and automated workflows let you quickly remediate problems or prevent them entirely.
- Unsupervised learning: Mist uses its data to support Juniper indoor location services (accurate to around just one meter) that deliver rich mobile experiences for in-store customers and can play a key role in driving revenue through digital sales and marketing.
- Generative AI facilitates natural conversations between network operators and the Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, making interaction and communication easy. Central to Juniper’s unique AI-Native support model, Marvis is constantly ingesting data and learning from network devices and applications.
Step Two: Marvis Minis: The only AI-Native Digital Experience Twin
Marvis Minis is the only AI-Native Networking Digital Experience Twin. It proactively simulates the user experience to instantly validate network configurations and detect problems without any users being present on the network. For example, if you’re making network changes to a store overnight, you don’t have to wait for human users to start using it the next morning to discover whether everything is as it should be. Marvis checks everything for you, testing every hour and after every change. Minis can also be configured to test your custom websites and URLs.
Best of all, no additional hardware or software is needed; Marvis Minis is always on and validating network experience. Simply switch Minis on from the Mist interface and you’re ready to go.
Step Three: Integrations with retail applications
Retail environments depend on the network for many vital applications, from delivering rich in-store experience to consumers to giving employees the tools they need to keep the business humming.
Juniper’s AI-Native Network offers easy integration with Zebra store and inventory management devices ensure the devices have the best possible connection so that store staff are not held up by connectivity issues and customers are not frustrated by a sketchy scanning experience. Being able to identify the cause of a problem through the Mist dashboard means that the right remediation can be swiftly carried out, often without anyone noticing.
Another advantage Mist offers is integration with Microsoft® Teams and Zoom to deliver the best possible caller experience for meetings between retail locations. Mist correlates data from calls and the network to identify exactly what’s happening then makes adjustments to improve quality and clarity for the user. And when an issue is detected, Marvis shows you the source of the problem and automatically advises you on the best action to take for remediation.
Breathe deep; help is on the way
By streamlining and automating network operations, Mist makes store operations more efficient. AIOps and application integration mean that issues can be pinpointed and remediated automatically—there’s no need for the store to call the help desk or wait for a store visit from the IT team.
Any Ops engineer who has spent several hours trying to replicate a problem so they can find where the issue lies will appreciate just how big a deal this is. This is one of the true benefits of AI-Native Networking with Juniper. It does the hard work and repetitive tasks for operators so they can move from reactive firefighting to proactively creating exceptional experiences. And they can prioritize more strategic opportunities, including working on future-facing projects, which is far more satisfying than dealing with a constant stream of tickets. That represents true peace of mind.
Implementation and updates are much easier, too. Mist AI takes operators out of the break/fix cycle since your stores can be running with experience-first networking from Day 1 with no more concerns about uptimes or MTTR.
Musgrave Stores seeks balance and finds it
Every day, one third of Ireland’s population shops at food retailer and wholesaler Musgrave Stores. With 250 retail stores around the country, Musgraves’ complex network must be available and deliver excellent experiences to shoppers.
Neil Collins, IT Operations, Musgrave Stores, explains that fewer site visits with fewer staff for shorter periods is less disruptive to stores and utilizes his staff more strategically.
“We have a generational jump in the network technology in our stores. In the old [pre-Juniper] world, if we were upgrading our network in a store, four teams would go in. There would be two out of hours visits and one, possibly two, daytime visits.
In the new world, it’s one visit and one engineer. From a retail point of view, you’re talking about no disruptions to a store. We can replace a network in one minute of outage time.”
Watch the full Musgrave video customer success story:
Peace of mind extends to data privacy, transparency, and ethical practice
Juniper’s AI-Native Networking Platform and Mist AI was designed with privacy and security in mind. We’re also constantly reviewing our AI to prevent bias. Specifically:
- Our networks do not compromise data privacy, corporate or individual, as there is no data payload in the cloud, only header information that is untraceable
- We have our own separate cloud in each region (for example, UK, EU, Middle East, U.S., APAC)
- We ensure accountability by ensuring transparency, accuracy, and explainability in our AI output, meaning that so-called ‘hallucinations’ are not a concern
Now is the time to embrace AI-Native Networking
In retail, your priorities include enabling smart connectivity to increase revenue, reduce complexity and cost of networking, and reduce risks to data and loss of inventory. Juniper Networks with Mist AI uses AI to achieve the balance required to meet those priorities and make every connection count.
Our AI-Native Networking Platform leverages over nine years of AI learning to assure that connections are reliable, measurable, and secure for every device, user, application, and asset. For retailers, now is the time to make the move to true AI-Native Networking to see real benefits to your user experience, customer satisfaction, and competitive advantage.
Learn more about how Juniper helps retailers improve operations and enhance the customer journey through experience-first networking.
Resources:
Join Juniper Mist expert Elliot Townsend to learn more about AI, how it delivers value, and the important part it plays in successful retail networks. Register here.
Watch the full interview with Neil Collins of Musgrave Stores
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