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Forward-thinking CIOs are embracing delivery models that distribute agile experience more evenly across teams, seeking to optimize enterprise IT at a speed that’s right for the entire IT organization.

Leading organizations are building on the simple two-speed IT mindset and recognizing they must be able to support a continuum of speeds in order to dial in the right approach for a specific initiative, with the underlying disciplines, capabilities, platforms, and talents to appropriately support the actual breadth of business needs.

Not only are airports looking to deploy the technology to ease congestion for passengers within the airport  but they are also seeking to use them for ‘on the day of travel’ services by combining it with mobile applications.

According to the latest Airport IT Trends report from SITA, 30% are planning major investment in sensor technology to help ease bottlenecks while 51% are evaluating the technology.

When it comes to ‘on the day of travel’ services, areas such as wayfinding and flight status notifications are on the cards for 61% of airports while notifications such as parking availability and queuing times are planned by 58% of airlines.

Energy has been a major issue for hotels. While cloud-based technology has revolutionized the way properties manage operations such as the front desk, housekeeping, distribution and even marketing, not a lot has been happening in the power department.

Replacing all incandescent bulbs with LED-based lighting and using energy-efficient public devices like vending machines have helped lower  carbon footprints to an extent.

Adopting renewable sources of energy is a great way for companies to exhibit their commitment to ensuring longevity for their environment, and themselves, in turn.

Top POS Predictions for 2017 “Windows will no longer be the number one operating system in the market, as multiple operating systems are being offered to allow greater flexibility to consumers. Data collection will be a bigger selling point for consumers, not only to track sales and inventory, but also to manage shifts and training, as well as deploy customer loyalty programs.” — Bematech “We will see increasing configuration flexibility to adapt to more fluid layouts in a hyper-channel oriented world, smaller counter footprints, more intensive future-proofing and increased value.” — Fujitsu America, Inc. “Major restaurant chains will continue to adopt online ordering and line-busting technology and POS hardware will do a better job of connecting wirelessly to each other (Internet of Things) and to mobile (smartphone and tablet) devices. It will also integrate with sensors, cameras and video monitors to provide smart advertising to customers based on environment and purchasing trends.” — Epson “A lot of the new requests for hardware are around supporting initiatives for increasing customer engagement. These come in the form of minimizing the barrier for traditional POS, installing kiosks of varying sizes and form factors, mobility solutions, and customer-facing screens on the POS for supporting both touch and non-touch versions.” — Par Technology Corp. “In the end, hardware is simply the platform for software and consumer omnichannel demands. The rise in mobile payments and the EMV mandate will prod hospitality to upgrade legacy POS systems because of the need for security compliance and to accept more payment options. Tablets, smartphones, software- (SaaS) or POS-as-a-service models, and cloud-based POS will continue to drive the need for POS hardware to adapt to new IT and consumer interaction.” — Posiflex “POS hardware will expand connectivity in keeping with the IOT revolution, so operators will be able to provide a more personalized experience to customers at checkout.” — Toshiba “There will be increased investments in WiFi, location-based services (LBS), mobile computers and data capture solutions as more consumers use their smartphones to engage in mobile ordering and loyalty programs for personalized offers. In addition, businesses will have an increased need for visibility in automating food safety processes.” — Zebra

SECAUCUS, N.J. – Northstar Travel Media, the world’s leading business-to-business media company serving the travel and meetings industries, has announced that it is supplying a unique hotel identifier that solves the problems associated with multiple identifiers. “For nearly a decade the travel industry has struggled with the costs and problems created by multiple identifiers, said Sheila Rice, VP Business Development & Licensing. “Over the years, each business created its own system resulting in a proliferation of identification numbers. A single entity may have numerous proprietary codes across different systems. As each segment of the industry tries to integrate information with suppliers, travel agents, hotels, GDS systems, CRS providers, content publishers and payment processors, predictable problems ensue.” With a history spanning more than 70 years, Northstar Travel Media is already established in the business and process of identification numbers. It is uniquely positioned to lead a solution for this long-standing and increasing industry problem. As the content provider of unique hotel identifiers, Northstar Travel Media has been supplying this data to leading travel and hospitality companies for more than a decade. Northstar’s database of 200,000 hotels worldwide contains up to 300 fields of data for each hotel. “Northstar Travel Media has a pristine reputation for providing data that is comprehensive, accurate, reliable and flexible,” said Tom Kemp, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to providing more content solutions with our unique hotel identification numbers.” Licensing of the unique hotel identifier data includes hotel name, address and telephone number. Content packages can be customized to provide solutions to meet specific needs. The Unique Hotel Identifier builds on Northstar’s existing hotel products and services that include more than 60,000 hotels around the world reviewed and classified using the company’s industry-standard consumer classification hotel rating system. Northstar Travel Media is the leading provider of news, information and data for the travel, meetings and hospitality industries and parent of brands Travel Weekly, Business Travel News, Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings, Incentive and TravelAge West. NTM’s electronic directories — Travel Weekly’s Hotel & Travel Index and M&C Facilities Search — provide in-depth data on hotels, meeting and convention properties, and business travel in the United States and internationally. In addition to its directories and periodicals, NTM publishes a number of online subscription information resources, including travel42, Weissmann Reports, STAR Service Online, Intelliguide Corporate and BTP24. Northstar also is an industry leader in marketing services, custom communications, content licensing and database management serving the travel and meetings industries. Additionally, Northstar recently acquired PhoCusWright, the premier global travel, tourism and hospitality research and event business at the intersection of the Internet and the global travel industry. Based in Secaucus, New Jersey, the company also has offices in New York, Glen Ellyn, Illinois; Los Angeles; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Northstar Travel Media, LLC is a portfolio company of BV Investment Partners, a leading private equity investor in the media and communications sector.

3. Enable location-based services and information. A 2014 Ipsos study commissioned by Google showed that 88% of people make local searches on smartphones, while 61% want mobile search results customized to their immediate location. Location-specific offers, driving directions and maps, and localized search results all play a role here. For example, if a person searches “Olive Garden” on mobile, chances are excellent that they are looking for a local restaurant. The brand can win more sales when it ensures that its local stores are in the mobile search results. The quickest way to do this is to buy search terms including location, i.e. “Olive Garden Birmingham AL.” Over the long run, you can boost your local SEO by claiming each location in Google and Bing, and then driving citations and ratings from users. 4. Help people avoid lines. Mobile check-in helps hotels, airlines and car services improve guest satisfaction. The Center for Generational Kinetics conducted a study that found that 40% of millennials prefer purely online customer service, supporting the overall trend that they prefer self-service experiences offered via mobile instead of in person. I recently had a four-day hotel experience in which I checked in, checked out, made requests and ordered room service, all via mobile and without speaking to anyone. It was simply an experiment for me, but self-service is the preferred way of doing business for many. 5. Offer local insight and options. Innovative travel companies now replicate concierge services through their apps. Hotel and airline apps sometimes offer local area guides and activity booking tools. These tools make travel experiences richer and boost loyalty. For example, my team and I recently stayed in a hotel in Philadelphia. We arrived after 10 p.m. and wanted a good nearby restaurant that was serving at that hour. After a few clicks, we had a reservation and walking directions.

As if significant savings on electricity bills weren't enough, IT managers have another reason to embrace environmentally friendly IT practices: a bevy of federal, state and local tax incentives that could tip the scales to make green IT projects financially attractive. However, companies have been slow to take advantage of the available incentives, essentially leaving money on the table. One reason is that many tax incentives are for solar energy, which is still expensive. Another reason is that CIOs -- who don't often talk with tax experts -- may not be aware of what's available. Among the federal tax incentives is the Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction, part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. (Subsequent legislation extended this deduction through 2013.) Companies can claim a tax deduction of $1.80 per square foot on new or existing buildings by installing interior lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation or hot water systems that reduce a building's total energy and power costs by 50% or more. "If an IT manager is looking to retrofit or construct a data center, this particular incentive is absolutely appropriate -- almost a given," says Jenny Bravo, a director at Deloitte Tax LLP. "A 50% reduction [in energy and power costs] for a well-planned data center is absolutely doable."

PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PAR - News) and the leading provider of guest-centric hospitality management systems and Personality Hotels, San Francisco’s first boutique hotel company, today announce the successful deployment of the ATRIO™ Guest Experience Management platform at the Hotel Diva in San Francisco, California.

With this deployment, PAR Springer-Miller achieves a significant milestone and emerges as a true innovator in the global hospitality industry. The installation at the Hotel Diva marks the culmination of the initial, twenty-two month, development effort that delivered an extraordinary advancement in the state-of-the-art of technology in the hospitality industry.

The guiding pillars of ATRIO include the industry’s only platform purpose-built for true cloud computing, a highly innovative user experience, modular design, and the use of an Enterprise Service Bus. Overlaying ATRIO rests PAR Springer-Miller’s ongoing commitment to guest-centricity. Among many other benefits, true cloud computing and the “zero training” goal of the user experience brought significant financial benefit to Personality Hotels.

The new system allows property managers to easily manage resident billing and utilities through fully automated convergent billing and electronic payments combined with a full suite of utility management products and services.

“Convergent billing is a great solution to providing properties more cash earlier in the month,

We are happy to welcome our largest processing partner into this marketplace, and we appreciate the fact that they have legitimized the technology that we initially developed in 2004 and released to the marketplace at our Security Summit in Las Vegas in 2005," says Dave Oder, President of Shift4 Corporation

bank and processor neutral gateway with Tokenization and payment accounting application like Shift4's DOLLARS ON THE NET(SM) gives the merchant the flexibility to move from Merchant Bank or Processor with the assurance that their historical data will always be available.

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

today announced Proximus Mobility, a hyperlocal proximity marketing software company, as one of the Top 10 Innovative Technology Companies in Georgia.

The coveted Top 10 Innovative Technology Company Awards recognize Georgia-based companies for their innovation, financial impact, and their efforts at spreading awareness of Georgia's technology initiatives throughout the U.S. and beyond.