In the U.S., two-thirds of the country’s 150,000 convenience stores are run by independent operators. Mom-and-pop shops, powered by personal relationships and local knowledge, are the backbone of the convenience sector. These neighborhood operators have long lacked the resources needed to compete with larger chains when it comes to technology, operations, and customer loyalty programs. 

As consumer expectations evolve, many small business owners find themselves grappling with outdated systems, rising costs, and limited digital tools to keep up.

“What would happen if these small operations could combine their knowledge of their market, of their neighborhood, with the state-of-the-art technology?” asks GM of digital products, mobility, and convenience for the Americas at bp, Tarang Sethia. That question is shaping a years-long, multi-pronged initiative to bring modern retail tools, like cloud-connected point-of-sale systems and personalized AI, into the hands of local convenience store operators, without stripping their independence. 

Sethia’s mission is to close the digital gap. bp's newly launched Earnify app centralizes loyalty rewards for convenience stores across the country, helping independent stores build repeat business with data-informed promotions. Behind the scenes, a cloud-based operating system can proactively monitor store operations and infrastructure to automate fixes to routine issues and reduce costly downtime. This is especially critical for businesses that double as their own IT departments. 

"We've aggregated all of that into one offering for our customers. We proactively monitor it. We fix it. We take ownership of making sure that these systems are up. We make sure that the systems are personalizing offers for the customers," says Sethia. 

But the goal isn’t to corporatize corner stores. “We want them to stay local,” says Sethia. “We want them to stay the mom-and-pop store operator that their customers trust, but we are providing them the tools to run their stores more efficiently and to delight their guests.”

From personalizing promotions to proactively resolving technical issues to optimizing in-store inventory, the success of AI should be measured, says Sethia, by its ability to make frontline workers more effective and customers more loyal.

The future, Sethia believes, lies in thoughtful integration of technology that centers humans rather than replacing them. 

“AI and other technologies should help us create an ecosystem that does not replace humans, but actually augments their ability to serve consumers and to serve the consumers so well that the consumers don't go back to their old ways.”

This episode of Business Lab is produced in association with Infosys Cobalt.

In an age where customer experience can make or break a business, Cathay Pacific is embracing cloud transformation to enhance service delivery and revolutionize operations from the inside out. It's not just technology companies that are facing pressure to deliver better customer service, do more with data, and improve agility. An almost 80-year-old airline, Cathay Pacific embarked on its digital transformation journey in 2014, spurred by a critical IT disruption that became the catalyst for revamping their technology.

By embracing the cloud, the airline has not only streamlined operations but also paved the way for innovative solutions like DevSecOps and AI integration. This shift has enabled Cathay to deliver faster, more reliable services to both passengers and staff, while maintaining a robust security framework in an increasingly digital world. 

According to Rajeev Nair, general manager of IT infrastructure and security at Cathay Pacific, becoming a digital-first airline was met with early resistance from both business and technical teams. The early stages required a lot of heavy lifting as they shifted legacy apps first from their server room to a dedicated data center and then to the cloud. From there began the process of modernization that Cathay Pacific, now in its final stages of this transformation, continues to fine tune.

The cloud migration also helped Cathay align with their ESG goals. “Two years ago, if you asked me what IT could do for sustainability, we would’ve been clueless,” says Nair. However, through cloud-first strategies and green IT practices, the airline has made notable strides in reducing its carbon footprint. Currently, the business is in the process of moving to a smaller data center, reducing physical infrastructure and its carbon emissions significantly by 2025.

The broader benefits of this cloud transformation for Cathay Pacific go beyond sustainability. Agility, time-to-market, and operational efficiency have improved drastically. "If you ask many of the enterprises, they would probably say that shifting to the cloud is all about cost-saving," says Nair. "But for me, those are secondary aspects and the key is about how to enable the business to be more agile and nimble so that the business capability could be delivered much faster by IT and the technology team."

By 2025, Cathay Pacific aims to have 100% of their business applications running on the cloud, significantly enhancing their agility, customer service, and cost efficiency, says Nair.

As Cathay Pacific continues its digital evolution, Nair remains focused on future-proofing the airline through emerging technologies. Looking ahead, he is particularly excited about the potential of AI, generative AI, and virtual reality to further enhance both customer experience and internal operations. From more immersive VR-based training for cabin crew to enabling passengers to preview in-flight products before boarding, these innovations are set to redefine how the airline engages with its customers and staff. 

"We have been exploring that for quite some time, but we believe that it will continue to be a mainstream technology that can change the way we serve the customer," says Nair.

This episode of Business Lab is produced in association with Infosys Cobalt.