News

Managing the automated sales force

October 26, 2004

Self-service applications have changed the way retail does business - for the better. From job recruiting to gift registry and from customer loyalty systems to quick-serve ordering, kiosks have driven up revenue while driving down HR costs.

With this power comes an increased need for control: A burgeoning sales force of self-service devices can easily become unmanageable, especially if it is stitched together from a variety of operating systems and technologies.

"Retailers have embraced self-service as a way to improve the in-store experience for customers, deliver additional revenue-generating services and differentiate themselves from competitors," said V. Miller Newton, CEO of Netkey. "But now they're faced with a hodge-podge of store technologies that they can't easily control, update or maintain."

This story and all the great free content on Kiosk Marketplace is supported by: Netkey

Netkey thinks it has the solution for this problem: It recently shipped version 6.2 of its flagship platform aimed at managing, monitoring and securing kiosks and other unattended system components. According to Newton, several top-five retailers use the Netkey platform to manage devices that process millions of transactions and interactions each week.

Newton says that retailers often struggle to integrate legacy devices with newer ones; many turn to custom software development or try to modify generic management software to meet their one-of-a-kind needs. "These systems rarely fully solve the problem, are difficult to maintain and are inflexible," he added.

According to Newton, some of the Netkey platform's built-in strengths include:

* Remote device monitoring * Content scheduling and delivery * Security measures for devices and applications * Central administration and management consoles * Detailed reporting and analytical tools

Version 6.2 of the Netkey platform boasts a number of new and improved features, such as ready-to-go integration with popular management software packages like IBM Tivoli, Unicenter Management Portal and hp OpenView. It offers increased security against third-party applications that attempt to load themselves within a kiosk and makes it a snap for retailers to be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which encourages equal access to customers and employees with disabilities.

Although Netkey has enjoyed success among larger retailers, Newton is adamant that smaller enterprises need to plan for the future by using the tools that the "big boys" use.

"By planning for growth up front and building your system on a common management platform, you will save time and money during your initial deployment, and be able to expand to meet market needs later without significant additional work," he said. "Plus, your day-to-day cost of operations will be less through improved IT efficiencies and greater kiosk and system uptime."

WHITE PAPER Netkey's Guide for IT Professionals Netkey invites you to register for and download its white paper "Ensuring Self-Service Success: A Practical Guide for IT Professionals."