Data analytics company Iguazio Systems Ltd. is teaming up with Google LLC and Trax Technology Solutions Pte Ltd. to provide real-time supply chain and inventory management services for the retail sector.

Iguazio sells a serverless data platform-as-a-service product that’s focused on delivering real-time intelligence at the network edge. It consolidates data into a repository and makes it available to many applications as files, messages, streams and other forms each application needs. Data can be analyzed o site, without sending it back to the cloud, thereby enabling much faster insights.

To simplify processing of data, Iguazio relies on technologies including big-data and machine learning software such as Apache Spark, TensorFlow and Kubernetes, which manages software “containers” that allow applications to run the same on many different computing environments.

The “serverless” aspect of Iguazio’s platform, powered by its open-source Nuclio framework, is important because it means users don’t have to worry about the underlying infrastructure, such as servers and storage. Nuclio also helps reduce bandwidth constraints by aggregating data before sending it to the cloud.

As for Trax, it’s one of the main providers of image recognition systems for the retail industry, offering software and hardware such as shelf-mounted cameras that are used to take photos of store shelves and keep track of inventory, so it can be adjusted as needed.

Trax’s systems are useful, but installing them also requires “significant development efforts,” Iguazio said. In addition, Trax’s software is unable to take full advantage of the numerous cloud services out there, including things such as machine learning that can be leveraged by retailers to manage their supply chains more efficiently.

To eliminate these constraints, Trax is teaming up with Iguazio in order provide more intelligence at the edge and better connectivity to Google’s cloud. The partnership means retailers will be able to process data onsite in real time for inventory management purposes, while also accessing the full range of Google’s cloud services.

Iguazio’s integrated platform comes with a small appliance that’s installed on location in order to do the immediate data processing. It also connects to Google’s Cloud IoT Core platform so filtered and aggregated information can be sent back to Google’s cloud to enable more specialized tasks such as deep learning and central control. Data and machine learning models are transferred automatically to the edge based on user requests, system triggers or predefined schedules. Meanwhile, data collected, aggregated or analyzed at the edge is uploaded to various Google Cloud data services for further processing and reinforced machine learning as required.

“Stores used to send people to stores once a day to take photos of shelves using a cell phone,” Iguazio founder and Chief Technology Officer Yaron Haviv (pictured) told SiliconANGLE. “Now it can be reported automatically on an hourly basis.”

Haviv stressed that Iguazio’s intelligent edge platform isn’t only suitable for retail, but also many other use cases. However, he said the retail industry was important because many retailers are wary of using alternative services offered by Amazon Web Services Inc. because that company is also a key competitor.

“Iguazio extends the cloud experience to the edge,” said Iguazio Chief Executive Asaf Somekh. “The intelligent edge is trending across a variety of industries, as the market begins to use the power of the cloud for training and data science, while prioritizing real-time decisions at the edge.”

With reporting from Robert Hof

Image: SiliconANGLE