QSIC boosts global in-store media reliability with Datadog

QSIC has rolled out a unified monitoring approach across its global in-store media network, using Datadog to track the health of connected devices, applications and networks across more than 17,000 stores.

The Australian-founded business supplies in-store audio-including music and advertising-through connected hardware installed in retail environments. It operates across thousands of sites and says that scale creates reliability challenges that differ from those faced by operators running software on a single cloud platform.

Its previous monitoring set-up relied on multiple tools and data sources, making it harder to pinpoint the root cause of outages. Investigations could take days, increasing the risk of disruption to music playback and scheduled advertising.

QSIC adopted Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring and Logs Management, giving it a single view across IoT devices, servers and applications. The change reduced blind spots and improved the speed of diagnosis when faults occurred.

"Before we had Datadog, troubleshooting was like playing whack-a-mole," said Andrew Gobbo, General Manager, APAC, QSIC. "If music or media stopped, it meant hours of digging through different systems to work out what went wrong. Now we can see issues in real time, act before stores notice, and keep the customer experience consistent."

From days to hours

QSIC also introduced Datadog Application Performance Monitoring and anomaly detection, reducing incident recovery times from days to hours and easing the load on support teams.

The operational shift moved the team from reactive fault-finding to earlier warning. Engineers can spot signs of problems such as network congestion or regional disruptions, then contact clients before in-store playback or advertising delivery is affected.

In-store audio sits at the intersection of brand marketing and retail operations. For retailers, music contributes to the atmosphere on the shop floor. For advertisers, delivery depends on systems functioning across thousands of locations at once. Even short interruptions can affect retail ambience and campaign execution.

The monitoring overhaul has also changed day-to-day operations. Teams now use shared dashboards showing real-time network status. That visibility has reduced hand-offs between development and operations staff during rollout periods, when new locations are added and issues often emerge under load.

Rollout test

QSIC tested the approach during a recent 12,000-site deployment, reporting fewer bottlenecks and faster troubleshooting than in previous expansions.

Large-scale deployments across physical locations bring variability that cloud-only operators do not face. Store networks differ in bandwidth and configuration; devices can be disconnected or misconfigured; and faults can stem from local infrastructure or regional conditions. The monitoring changes have improved QSIC's ability to trace problems across those layers.

"We can instantly see how devices and networks are performing, which means less firefighting, faster recovery, and a smoother experience for our retail customers and their shoppers," said Gobbo. "As our network grows, the challenge isn't just keeping everything online; it's making sure new technologies are just as reliable and secure. The better visibility we have, the more confidently we can innovate."

Datadog positioned the deployment as part of a wider trend: observability tooling is moving beyond datacentres and cloud services into environments with large fleets of connected devices. Retail media has grown rapidly as brands search for advertising inventory closer to the point of sale, raising expectations around reporting, uptime and consistent delivery across distributed networks.

AI and security

QSIC is now exploring AI-driven observability and assessing how to monitor the behaviour of agents that use large language models for customer engagement and internal operations.

It is also evaluating additional security monitoring for AI-related risks, including prompt-injection attacks and potential data leakage.

Datadog said QSIC's work reflects a growing focus on reliability as digital experiences become embedded in physical spaces.

"Retail media relies on atmosphere, the rhythm, tone, and emotion that shape the shopping experience," said Adrian Towsey, Vice President - Commercial APJ, Datadog. "QSIC has captured that beautifully, blending technology and creativity to make every store sound as good as it looks. By pairing innovation with reliability, they're showing how AI-powered retail experiences can scale globally without missing a beat."

QSIC said its next focus areas include deeper monitoring of AI systems and expanded security oversight as it adds new software features across its store network.