“Alternative” POS system configurations are gaining ground, a pattern that should likely remain constant throughout the coming year. Notably, there is heightened interest among SMB retailers in “all-in-one” systems with integrated peripherals and a small footprint. “They like the speedier throughput and the opportunity to save space on the countertop, possibly devoting it to additional merchandise that” generates revenues, states Ed Levin, owner of International POS, Teaneck, N.J. The VAR/ISV recently outfitted a butcher shop with three HP ap5000 all-in-ones from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com). 
 

Mark Bunney, director of strategic alliances, ParTech (www.partech.com), corroborates Levin’s comments, adding that more merchants served by the channel are also recognizing “the enhanced value proposition” offered by all-in-one POS systems as compared to larger options that require a separate peripherals purchase. The EverServ 2000, ParTech’s entry into the sub-$1,000, small-footprint, all-in-one touchscreen terminal market,  features an integrated three-track magnetic stripe reader, a 15-inch resistive LCD, an Intel Atom 1.6-GHz processor and a fanless design. A two-line by 20 character customer display is optional.
 

Similarly, POS-X (www.pos-x.com) is touting the EVOTouchPC, an economically priced, compact unit with a 15-inch active matrix touch display, up to 2GB of DDRII of RAM, an optional integrated magnetic stripe reader and a customer display or 8.4-inch rear LCD screen. Additionally, Pioneer POS (www.pioneerpos.com) has expanded its Stealth S-M2 S-Line suite of all-in-one POS touch computers with a unit that measures 12.2 inches wide by 13.7 inches high by12.75 inches deep and has an integrated thermal receipt printer. Optional peripherals that may be integrated with the system encompass a magnetic stripe reader, biometric reader, barcode scanner and secondary display. Expandability includes gigabit network as well as four serial and six USB ports.
 

“Installing ‘all-in-ones’ with built- in peripherals like a printer and magnetic stripe reader allows for better use of the available area,” observes Michael Flores, director, business development, Pioneer POS.  Retailers “can actually use the space saved to advertise and sell more merchandise.” 

 

Mobile POS applications are also garnering a more substantial share of attention in the SMB space. Levin points to growing recognition among Tier 3 and Tier 4 merchants that mobile POS is not “just for the big guys,” and that they can benefit to the same degree as their larger counterparts by using these solutions for line-busting and transacting sales in the aisles. The popularity of mobile POS within the SMB realm is also being driven by the preponderance of “non-traditional” merchants, from flea market stall operators to fishermen selling out of their trunks, who are now jumping on the bandwagon, the VAR/ISV adds. Accordingly, International POS has launched Handy Register, a mobile POS solution for the SMB market. It enables cash and credit/debit card transactions and generates daily sales reports by item.
 

When it comes to mobile POS, channel players can anticipate additional “heating-up” of second-generation applications with enhanced features, such as the ability to store and retrieve detailed product and inventory count information as well as better data security. The impetus for the former comes in large measure from consumers, who frequent “stores of all sizes armed with devices that allow them to comparison-shop,” remarks Harry Lerner, CEO, Janam Technologies (www.janam.com). “Retailers, even smaller ones, will be attempting to retain their competitive edge by giving that same information to associates, so that they can be proactive at the point of decision and close sales there, rather than allow consumers to slip through— their fingers and try the next store.” International POS’ Handy Register incorporates Janam’s rugged handheld devices specifically for this purpose.
 

For its part, VeriFone (www.verifone.com) recently announced that Elavon (www.elavon.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp and global payments provider, will market and support its PAYware Mobile secure card payment system for iPhone. The solution transforms the iPhone into a mobile payment device with a card encryption sleeve that allows merchants to capture data via card swipe, which is widely recognized as a more secure, cost effective method than manual data entry. 
 

Elsewhere on the mobile front, Hypercom (www.hypercom.com), in early
December, introduced the M5000 payment terminal. Initially supporting GPRS and Bluetooth connectivity, initial configurations of the unit are suited to the needs of mobile merchants as well as SMBs in the hospitality vertical. It is powered by a 266 MHz standard, 400 MHz processor and includes up to 500 MB of memory. Combined with a touchscreen, the processor can drive payment and non-payment applications alike, including inventory management and information systems.

HyperSafe, Hypercom’s full X509 Public Key Infrastructure security layer, is embedded into the terminal as protection against hacking and malware attack, and the vendor’s HyperSafe Remote Key System enables terminal key injection at merchants’ location.

 

Meanwhile, interest in thin client POS configurations remains on a steep growth curve. According to “The State of Customer-Centric Retailing,” a recent report by Aberdeen Group (www.aberdeen.com), 44 percent of “average” retailers have pegged web- and network-based POS applications like thin client among their top 10 customer-centric technology enablers over the next 18 months.

“We are definitely seeing more and more of a push to thin client, including significant activity at the SMB level,” affirms analyst Jerry Sheldon, vice president of technology at IHL Group (www.ihlservices.com). Sheldon says
the scope of SMB migration to the thin client model is no longer limited to the specialty hard goods vertical, specifically, furniture stores and automotive repair shops; rather, he claims that operators in other segments, from soft goods to hospitality, are fast boarding the train. Many retailers are attracted by the lower total cost of ownership afforded by this configuration as compared to PC-based systems, which Gartner (www.gartner.com) estimates at 48 percent.
 

“The ‘cost-versus-performance’ curve continues to move in thin clients’ favor, especially when retailers also consider the flexibility they get with the platform independence that accompanies it,” asserts Dan Grady, a principal of C-CORE Consulting Group. Grady, whose Shelton, Conn.-based firm has handled a myriad of retail IT consulting engagements centered on thin client architecture, notes that “with thin client, as long as you can run the browser, you can run the application.”
 

Another catalyst is the fact that migration to thin client can start with “thin register,” wherein databases reside, and applications are run on, a central in-store server or servers. Store employees access data in the servers directly from the thin point of sale terminals. A subsequent and, if desired, gradual transition can then be made to a “thin store” mode, wherein there are no servers or databases at the store level.  Applications run on a server at a central location, with updates to data (for example, price changes) executed at that location and accessed by individual stores via browser, explains Alan Hohler,
director, software development, UTCRetail (www.utcretail.com).
 

In an entirely different vein, the SMB sector is seeing—and should continue to see—a move toward integration of disparate applications with POS systems. Direct integration with payment processors and payment processing systems tops the list. “Many of our SMB retailers want the convenience, speed and security of eliminating middleware and gateway solutions and instead integrating directly with payment processors,” reports Dipesh Shrestha, owner of Compro Boston (www.comproboston.com), a VAR headquartered in Medford, Mass.
 

Baird Kleinsmith, director, channel payment sales, Mercury Payment Systems (www.mercurypay.com), corroborates Shrestha’s comments, pointing to increased adoption of web-based, hosted POS solutions with little or no software footprint. Mercury Payment Systems recently expanded its MercuryShield suite of technology, which Kleinsmith says is intended to make it easier for POS VARs and ISVs to offer integrated payment solutions to merchants while meeting mandates governing the use of PA-DSS compliant payment applications. The suite includes E2E, or end-to-end encryption that safeguards data from theft by encrypting it the moment a card is swiped or keyed; MToken, an advanced tokenization technology that replaces card data with a token to facilitate secure tip adjustment, recurring billing, returns, and card on file;  TranSecure, which removes the POS system from the scope of PA-DSS—and greatly reduces PCI DSS requirements—by using end-to-end encryption for initial card data entry and storing a token for subsequent transactions; and TranSentry, Mercury’s original MercuryShield integration application, which removes the POS from the scope of PA-DSS by eliminating handling of sensitive card data at the POS.
 

Both Shrestha and Levin, along with Lerner, say there is also considerable buzz surrounding SMBs’ embracement of technology that alloMobility, Thin Client Computers and Integration are the big buzz words for the Channel in the new year.ws brick-and-mortar POS applications to integrate with online applications. “Even in Tier 3 and to a degree, Tier 4, there is now a call for applications that permit items purchased online to be returned at the store and for one inventory platform across all the channels,” Lerner concludes. “It’s something larger retailers have been looking at for a while, but theirs is definitely a trickle-down effect.”