The Power Of LP-IT Synergy

By Hedgie Bartol, Business Development Manager, Retail, for Axis Communications

The move from analog to digital video surveillance technology has changed the playing field for Loss Prevention. Once independent silos of operation, LP’s primary shrink fighting tools now share the corporate network. And like every other department system, they rely on IT to allocate bandwidth and storage and provide maintenance and support. This could lead to tension as each department fights to receive a bigger piece of the technology pie.

According to a recent survey by the IHL Group, in a typical retail operation only about 6.4 percent of IT spending is allocated to LP efforts — other than data breaches and PCI compliance. And only about 5.4% of IT staff is dedicated to loss prevention initiatives. For LP to make the most of its share of IT resources, it needs to find common ground with IT and other departments and make the case for leveraging each other’s tools and technologies to move the company forward.