In retail security, every incident and every frame matters. SkyHawk ensures the footage retailers rely on is always captured, accessible and protected, writes Seagate’s Domenico Scordo.
Retailers across the UK are facing unprecedented pressure as crime levels surge and the security landscape becomes more complex.
Shoplifting now represents one of the most costly and disruptive threats on the high street, with police recording more than 516,000 shoplifting offences last year – a 20% increase year-on-year.
Meanwhile, violence and abuse against retail workers remain stubbornly high, with an average of 1,600 incidents every single day, more than triple pre‑pandemic levels.
The scale and intensity of these threats are forcing retailers to rethink the foundations of their security infrastructure, and that begins with storage.
In today’s AI‑driven video imaging analytics world, retailers depend on reliable, always‑on video systems to protect staff, deter theft and support investigations.
Yet many organisations underestimate how critical storage is to those outcomes.
You can’t run advanced analytics, preserve evidential footage or support real‑time monitoring if your storage infrastructure drops frames, fails under load or can’t scale.
In this context, Seagate’s SkyHawk storage portfolio has emerged as a pivotal foundation for retailers seeking to elevate their security capabilities.
Through close collaboration with industry partners like Hanwha, we are able to deliver seamlessly integrated, intelligent storage solutions that enhance the performance, efficiency and resilience of modern retail surveillance systems.
Retailers now operate thousands of cameras across stores, depots and car parks, producing high‑resolution video around the clock.
At the same time, AI‑powered detection tools demand rapid access to footage to identify shoplifting patterns, aggressive behaviour or escalating risks on the shop floor.
SkyHawk is engineered precisely for this new operational reality.
Shoplifting is not only increasing; it is evolving. With theft up 20% year-on-year and criminal activity more organised and mobile, retailers need surveillance systems that can record continuously while supporting instant playback and AI analysis.
SkyHawk drives enable simultaneous, multi‑stream recording and analytics without dropped frames, ensuring that when an incident occurs, the system captures every crucial detail.
Retail shrink is rising, but so are operational costs.
Retailers are balancing crime prevention investment with pressure on margins.
SkyHawk’s high‑capacity drives reduce hardware footprints across estates, lowering power, maintenance and rack-space requirements, delivering measurable operational efficiencies.
With threats escalating, downtime is not an option.
SkyHawk Health Management monitors drive conditions, environmental factors and workload patterns to predict issues before they lead to data loss or system failure.
For retail security teams already stretched thin, proactive health insights significantly reduce technician callouts and ensure surveillance stays up.
Retail operations never stop. Whether capturing incidents during peak trading hours or recording overnight break‑ins, SkyHawk’s surveillance‑grade endurance ensures continuous, reliable operation – even in busy, multi‑camera deployments.
The pressures on UK retailers are intensifying, not easing.
With more than 516,000 shoplifting offences recorded and 1,600 daily incidents of violence still threatening frontline staff, the retail environment demands resilient technology underpinned by reliable data storage.
As AI analytics become standard in modern loss prevention strategies, the storage foundation must be strong enough to support these advanced capabilities.
The right storage solution delivers exactly that: Reliable capture of every frame, even during peak incident periods; faster access to critical footage for investigations; predictive diagnostics that minimise downtime and scalable capacity for growing multi‑site estates.
Retailers cannot afford gaps in data, dropped footage or unplanned outages; not when the stakes include staff safety, brand reputation and millions in shrink.
As the UK sector faces rising crime, staff abuse and operational complexity, the industry needs technology built for resilience.
SkyHawk provides the dependable storage backbone that keeps modern retail security systems running smoothly, capturing every incident and empowering AI‑driven insights.
In a landscape defined by soaring crime rates and evolving threats, resilient storage isn’t a back‑office component – it’s a frontline defence.
This article was originally published in the April edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.
