The holiday shopping season, irrefutably the most important sales period of the year, always follows months of careful planning. That planning has traditionally been driven by years of data and experience dealing with the challenges the industry has come to expect — seasonal staffing, supply chain pressure, and predictable web traffic spikes. 

This year, we’re entering what’s predicted to be a pivotal holiday season, with record numbers of shoppers online, buying items that they would typically purchase in-store. The ability to provide and maintain a consistent digital customer experience is paramount, as customers today have little patience for anything but flawless performance. Complete control over digital infrastructure is critical to optimize the eCommerce experience, and IT and engineering teams should be planning for ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ by upping traffic capacities, running reliability tests, and establishing operational war rooms.