A Year-End Look at Retail - Page 3
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POS/PAYMENT SYSTEMS
Although the specific numbers run the gamut from eight to 20 or more years, many of todays largest retailers started the year with very old POS systems, or at least very old operating systems behind those POS systems. For much of that time, though, the old legacy systems were not in critical need of replacement. They did their job and did it admirably. It wasnt until this year and the imminence of RFID, contactless payment systems and sophisticated CRM applications that retailers saw the profitable things they would miss out on if they didnt upgrade. In 2004, retail IT execs suddenly had no choice but to at least seriously evaluate replacing their reliable legacy systems. This was a trend that certainly didnt go unnoticed in Redmond, with Microsoft making a serious play for the small retailer. Microsoft was still pushing to have POS mean point of service rather than point of sale. I put this right up there with the people at Digital who, after many decades of the industry calling them DEC, decided they didnt want to be called DEC anymore. They wanted to be called Digital Equipment or even Digital. A watch can be digital. They were just DEC. If Microsoft wants to change what the POS acronym stands for, theyre a couple of decades too late. Heres a short list of stories on how POS technology influenced the retail scene:Convenience Chain CIO: Payment Systems Bleeding Stores Dry
Retail Group to Help Integrate Worker Attedance
Microsoft Has Its Eye On Small Retailers
Device Lets POS Units Handle Wireless Transactions
At Wal-Mart, Worlds Largest Retail Data Warehouse Gets Even Larger
Teradata, SeeCommerce Alliance Promises Retail Out-of-Stock Help
Microsofts POS Move May Make It a Viable Retail Option
JDA, PeopleSoft Team Up To Help Retailers
Curbing Retail Shrinkage With The Help of a Shrink
Survey: Linux Has Long Way to Go in Retail
Will Cell Phones, PDAs Become Retailers Promo Tools?
Is Retail IT Being Killed By Complacency?
Discover CIO: Retail Technology Ready For Major Changes
Discover to Use Biometric To Combat Rivals
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Although the specific numbers run the gamut from eight to 20 or more years, many of todays largest retailers started the year with very old POS systems, or at least very old operating systems behind those POS systems. For much of that time, though, the old legacy systems were not in critical need of replacement. They did their job and did it admirably. It wasnt until this year and the imminence of RFID, contactless payment systems and sophisticated CRM applications that retailers saw the profitable things they would miss out on if they didnt upgrade. In 2004, retail IT execs suddenly had no choice but to at least seriously evaluate replacing their reliable legacy systems. This was a trend that certainly didnt go unnoticed in Redmond, with Microsoft making a serious play for the small retailer. Microsoft was still pushing to have POS mean point of service rather than point of sale. I put this right up there with the people at Digital who, after many decades of the industry calling them DEC, decided they didnt want to be called DEC anymore. They wanted to be called Digital Equipment or even Digital. A watch can be digital. They were just DEC. If Microsoft wants to change what the POS acronym stands for, theyre a couple of decades too late. Heres a short list of stories on how POS technology influenced the retail scene:
