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The quick guide to self-service self-sufficiency: Part 2

September 9, 2011 by Michael Ionescu — President, Ionescu Technologies

My last blog covered some essential software consideration when building a self-service network. The second part of this blog will cover some important hardware and business considerations to think about before committing to any product.

Hardware Maintenance
Companies usually don't think about this until their kiosks need to be maintained, and by then it's too late. If your solution isn't built to be accessible and easy to repair, you might not even be able to repair the unit. Depending on your warranty requirements, you may have to send units away for expensive repairs. When taking into account a 150-250 pound kiosk, sending kiosks away for repairs can cost, at the minimum, in the hundreds to thousands. That's not even counting the lost revenue and productivity that results from extended downtime of your self-service products. Thinking about maintenance and repair concerns before you buy can pay enormous dividends in the long term. Self-service devices can consist of several main components: The body construction, computer, printer, credit card reader and the touchscreen. Buying a device that offers easy access to the component parts can save a lot of time. It's also worth asking how many of the parts are custom-made versus how many are off the shelf. Our first kiosks all had custom-made, built-in computers that had to be sent away for service. Virtually none of the components were able to be replaced on-site. Not only did repairs cost almost as much as a new kiosk, but our unit was out of service for weeks. By making sure your key components are easily swappable, you can usually fix a hardware malfunction the same day within an hour, not to mention the cost savings.

Personnel
Many companies assume that building a self-service network is as easy buying some kiosks, installing some software and letting it run. It is important to realize that regardless of how well designed something is, there will be problems and there needs to be some plan to address the problem. One of our partners always said that problems inevitably crop up, but it is how you handle the problems that is important. That said, you should start planning early on for who will be providing software and hardware maintenance. Do you have existing staff who can handle the responsibilities? Are you planning on hiring new staff? Or will you look for a provider who can supply those services?

On a related note, one of the most useful tools in helping to reduce personnel needed to maintain a self-service network is building in redundancies to the software. Features like a robust backend monitoring/update system to send alerts when an error occurs and remote restart capability can keep a solution operational without having to send technicians out into the field.

Financial commitment
All of the things previously mentioned hinge on one other important consideration -- financial capability. Planning for and considering the finances to handle all of these needs before committing to a project will help you avoid starting a project that you cannot finish. Implementing some of the features mentioned might cost more money up front, but you will be saving much more when you have a solution that lasts five years or more as opposed to just one to two.

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