POS in the Cloud | Top Stories | | Hospitality Magazine (HT) - 0 views
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are taken, a cloud-based POS is no different than a hardwired system in this
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Moving technology systems into the cloud is becoming more accepted in the hospitality industry
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from the ability to update software at multiple locations in minutes rather than weeks, to savings in both cost and labor
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many operators are waiting until their current POS systems need upgrading before making the change, and many vendors who aren’t offering a cloud-based POS today will be in the future.
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But what about utilizing the technology for point-of sale (POS) systems
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Industry experts
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believe
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cloud-based POS is not only reliable and safe, but is also on its way to becoming the norm rather than the exception.
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Most chain operations have a lot invested in their current POS systems, and if they are currently working in their stores, there is no immediate payback for switchi
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But when it gets down to it, who has the better IT department, a large technology vendor or Joe’s Bar and Grill?”
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However, for the single-unit restaurant, a cloud based-solution is an easy and cost-effective solution
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“A cloud-based solution allows him to get up and running from an IT standpoint without a lot of servers, hardware and infrastructure needed.”
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One of the biggest fears for a restaurant operator is downtime at the POS, and when the entire system relies on the Internet, this fear hits an all time high
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high . However, as long as backup measures are taken, a cloud-based POS is no different than a hardwired system in this regard, according to Dolan
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regard, according to Dolan
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When operating in the cloud, data resides in the hands of someone other than the restaurant operator
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“You always need to have firewalls, be sure to segment your local area network, and change your passwords. But when it gets down to it, who has the better IT department, a large technology vendor or Joe’s Bar and Grill
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software at multiple locations in minutes rather
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? Industry experts, as well as operators who have taken the plunge, believe cloud-based POS is not only reliable and safe, but is also on its way to becoming the norm rather than the exception.
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And since his café offers catering, he can accept payment on location with the iPad or iPhone, something not possible with a hardwired system, he notes.
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“When you look at the concept itself, it is attractive to the guy that is just starting up,” explains Lee Holman, lead retail analyst at IHL Consulting. “A cloud-based solution allows him to get up and running from an IT standpoint without a lot of servers, hardware and infrastructure needed.”
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However, as long as backup measures are taken, a cloud-based POS is no different than a hardwired system in this regard, according to Dolan.
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Not only does it shift responsibility to the vendor, but more than likely they will have more money and resources to dedicate to it.
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This article talks about how more and more people in the hospitality industry are using a POS based-cloud instead of hardwire systems. According to some experts in some years most of the hospitality industry would have change into using the cloud. For now most of the users of the cloud are single unit restaurants as it is an easy system to adopt and cost efficient. On the other side for chain restaurants to make this change can be costly; therefore it is believed that it will take some time for them to change. Still some people believe that this can be an unreliable and unsecured system. Some of the reasons for this are: -The lack of privacy; as the data will be in the hands of somebody else. -This system relies on the internet so when a connection problem occurs a downtime would take place creating complications for the restaurant operator. According to experts and users both of these ideas can be debated. Leaving the data handling in the hand of experts can bring advantages and lower the costs. On the other hand when the internet fails if the correct backup measures are taken it has no difference with the hardware system. -
This article talks about the benefits of POS in cloud, and eliminates some misunderstanding about its downtime and security concerns. The author start selling POS in cloud by pointing out the trend that it is becoming more accepted. CEO and president of the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) says it will be mainstream in the next two to five years. Though POS in cloud would be a easy set up and cost saving solution for a starting up single-unit,"Large chains are more likely to turn to cloud applications for business intelligence solutions first because there is not as much investment or change in infrastructure compared to the POS" says Dave Matthews. But since multi-unit chains have already invested lots of money in the old POS, they are going to wait for those POS pay back before they switch to POS in cloud. Then author switched to what concern people most about cloud computing, downtime and security. A cloud based POS can have as reliable backup plan as a hardwired system. Although POS in cloud does not have backup servers in the location which should be provided by vendor, it can have several connection backups, like wireless, 3G or 4G, phone line. And about the security concern, just ask yourself is you have the security system than a technology vendor.
