Retailers adopt hybrid cloud to upgrade security

Investigations are faster and simpler.

Hybrid cloud technology is increasingly being used to modernise physical security in the retail and hospitality sectors.

Speaking at the Retail Asia Summit 2025 in Singapore, Blake Day, head of ASEAN at Verkada, said many businesses still rely on “a very on-premise legacy approach to physical security,” where CCTV, access control systems and alarms are “disparate systems, not connected to one another, not connected to the cloud.”

This, he added, limits the ability to monitor operations proactively and to improve efficiency.

Verkada’s hybrid cloud architecture combines local device storage with cloud connectivity, allowing centralised management and AI-powered analytics.

“We took a different approach to take all of the different systems, put them into one single pane of glass and connect all of those devices directly to the cloud,” Day said.

The system enables faster investigations and operational insights. Operators can search for incidents “in just a few simple clicks” and track individuals “across every single camera that you have installed, across every store or location that you have anywhere in the world.”

Global café chain Joe & the Juice manages more than 300 locations across 16 countries using the platform.

“Imagine being able to manage that scope of locations through one single software platform on your phone, on your tablet, anywhere whilst you’re on the go,” he said.