ISD stands for Information Systems Division.
There’s more than one thing that sets Walmart apart from other retailers, but there’s no question about the importance of technology. Being able to track products all along the supply chain, bring suppliers into the planning process with Retail Link, and be nearly omniscient about POS has given Walmart an enormous advantage.
ISD is in charge of these elements of Walmart’s systems:
- Customer Planning and Analysis
- Application Development
- Security and Compliance
- Infrastructure
- Strategic Services
- Enterprise Information Management
In addition to ISD, Walmart also has @WalmartLabs, which focuses on e-commerce. Formerly Kosmix, they were acquired by Walmart in 2005, kicking off a spate of tech acquisitions. The founders were the same folks who created Amazon’s search engine. They’re working on open source projects like Mupd8. So if you’re working with Muppet, you’re in the Labs and if you’re working with Puppet, you’re in ISD.
If you’re working with Retail Link, on the other hand, we’ve got classes to offer you.
Update: We’re told that ISD and @WalmartLabs are now combined into “Walmart Technology.” No acronym has yet been chosen. In the meantime, we’re still hearing “ISD” in use.
