Article

A standard of doing business

Bigger is better could be a motto for Global Access Alliance Inc. The six independent companies combine resources to acquire big kiosk projects and set global standards for the kiosk industry.

March 26, 2002

Robert Needham dreams of creating a network of kiosks much like a television broadcasting network. Needham is the president and chief executive officer of Global Access Alliance Inc., six companies working together to land big bids and to set kiosk industry standards.

"My dream is to put together a network of more than 10,000 machines over the next couple of years," said Needham, who is also president of SmarteTouch Corp., a kiosk design and equipment company based in Bessemer, Ala., "We hope to be the ABC of kiosks."

Global Access Alliance consists of the following kiosk-related companies: Advanced Technology and Media Network Inc., Digital Matter Corp., SmarteTouch Corp., SPA Marketing LLC, TAP Computer Services Inc. and TouchPoint Technologies. Needham and his fellow kiosk industry executives formed the GAA about two years ago. The consortium incorporated in January 2001.

A nice niche

Each company has its niche in the Alliance. Advanced Technology and Media Network specializes in kiosk project management and site development. Digital Matter providesmusic, video and wireless standalone applications and open architecture software.Needham's SmarteTouch specializes in kiosk design and equipment. SPA Marketing offers equipment sales and finance services. TAP Computer Services manages, installs and maintains kiosks. TouchPoint Technologies offers kiosk management software, sales, and marketing.

The GAA works with subcontractor affiliates to win bids for large kiosk projects.

The consortium intends to create a global standard for public access kiosks.

"I'm trying to get the butterflies to fly in formation, so to speak," Needham said. "The challenge is to bring together the affiliates and create an environment where they can work. That's what it takes to make the industry grow. The industry must collaborate and not compete in order to grow."

Global standards

Right now, the public access kiosk market is being hindered by a lack of industry standards, according to Needham. This lack of standards does little to promote public access. Needham and others in the GAA believe that consumers must have a general understanding of how kiosks work, no matter where the kiosk is installed, much like ATMs.

"If I walk up to a kiosk and all it does is gift registry, and an airport only does e-mail, I don't appreciate what a kiosk can do," Needham said. "People need to come to use and trust kiosks. My greatest challenge is to sort through all the possibilities and find things that make sense for the platform."

A horizontal standard might include a video camera, touchscreen, keyboard, trackball, voice over Internet protocol phone, thermal printer, bill acceptor and encrypted pin pad (PIN keypad) for every kiosk.

In addition to setting standards, Needham wants to be able to calculate the return on investment for each kiosk. Doing so requires making kiosk advertising a reality and making kiosks a viable business solution.

"You don't want so many functions that it becomes confusing," Needham said. "But, you don't want too few so that it doesn't pay for itself."

Tapping into resources

When Thom Pappalardo, president of TAP Computer Services in New Brunswick, N.J., first serviced a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes kiosk nine years ago in New Jersey, the lack of standards was obvious.

"The only way to get to the kiosk was to awkwardly crawl through four wooden crates," said Pappalardo, whose 17-year-old computer services company started supporting kiosks nine years ago and has managed and maintained 22,000 kiosks since then.

At the kiosk, children punched paint can lids in order to paint Looney Tunes characters on a screen. Pappalardo said the large, micro touch touchscreen was out of calibration. He had to wedge into a cramped area to service the unit.

"At that time, we felt the kiosk was such an oddity that companies would have trouble getting them serviced by their intimidating look," Pappalardo said.

Since then, Pappalardo has seen kiosk screens change to flat panels, among other improvements.

"We've been in the kiosk industry longer than anyone else has," said Pappalardo, whose company has 6,500 technicians in North and South America and Europe. "There are no standards on how we do our practice. How service is done. What products must be placed. There are some standards that should be set."

Current projects

The GAA has about seven kiosk projects in the works, Needham said.

Tosco Corp. awarded an estimated $50 million kiosk project to the GAA and InfoTouch to place 6,000 Internet kiosks at its Circle K convenience stores across the country. The GAA will test half the network this summer at Circle Ks in Philadelphia and also plans to install the kiosks in truck stops throughout the Southeast. InfoTouch will test the other half, approximately 3,000 kiosks, at Circle Ks in Phoenix. The companies are set to install the first units July 15th. Phillips Petroleum is in the process of acquiring Tosco Corp. this year.

Another kiosk project, estimated at $19.5 million, for Uniglobe Multimedia.com, calls for the GAA to install kiosks in Orlando, Tampa and Clearwater, Fla. at Holiday Inn, Marriott, Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn and other nearby hotels in the next 12 months. In addition to concierge services, the kiosks, branded as Connect Now, offer video IP phone and video e-mail services. In addition, cashless ATM services allow customers to redeem a voucher for cash at the hotel's front desk. Four kiosks are currently installed, with plans to add 25 more the first week of June. 

In a contract with Purchasing Power Inc., the GAA plans to deploy up to ten kiosks a month in hospitals and government agencies such as the Social Security Administration. According to Needham, Purchasing Power may spend $50,000-$100,000 to obtain and install the wall-mounted units, depending on the total number of kiosks purchased each month.

With the Purchasing Power kiosks, users can buy clothing, furniture and other merchandise through payroll deduction. According to Needham, the kiosks have taken the place of a sales representative.

According to Needham, the GAA has won bids on additional projects. Members of the GAA and those companies are negotiating details of the contracts.

In the future

The GAA is pursuing deals with more convenience stores and telecommunications companies and is seeking to sell advertising on affordable signs. The GAA is also developing the concept for 1,000 specialized, desktop kiosks for jewelry stores.

"Historically, a 50 unit deployment has been average, with 500 being large," Needham said. "In the future, we want kiosk deployments in the thousands to be the norm."