MICROS Systems, Inc., a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality industry, will showcase its iPOS system as part of the mymicros.net product suite, an Internet-based point-of-sale solution, at the HOSTEC Show in London this week.
The iPOS solution`s Offline Manager System ensures that the POS will continue to work in the event of Internet failure, and its fully featured handheld application offers flexibility in both traditional and non-traditional restaurant settings. MICROS will release the iPOS systems in the calendar 3rd quarter.
The mymicros.net suite of products will also showcase other modules developed by MICROS including the mymicros.net portal which will allow restaurant managers to create a personalized ``digital dashboard`` for their operations: real-time reports on the business parameters of their choosing, continually available from the data warehouse via their Internet connection. The portal will also be able to connect to existing POS applications through the mymicros.connect module. Simple and easy to use back-office functionality is also included, such as human resources, payroll, scheduling, ordering and inventory valuation through the myoffice module.
The MICROS iPOS solution allows restaurant management to leverage the speed and power of the Internet to access an unlimited amount of data and applications at any time, from any web browser. iPOS seamlessly front-ends a complete information warehouse solution with full dynamic drill-down capabilities. The system`s real-time reporting can include sales vs. forecast, speed of service, actual vs. theoretical labor costs, product- specific customer feedback, manager log and scheduling.
The handheld iPOS workstation solution operates on a variety of Windows CE devices, such as the Compaq iPAQ H3650 or Symbol Technologies PPT 2700. The handheld device communicates with the iPOS system using the 802.11 standard for wireless LANs, and features a color touchscreen for ease of training and server use.
``We are very excited to be previewing the MICROS iPOS solution for HOSTEC attendees,`` said Paul Armstrong, Executive Vice President, New Technologies, for MICROS Systems. ``This dynamic solution has been created in strategic partnership with Vivonet, drawing on their superior Web-based technology. Unlike other ASP-hosted solutions, iPOS offers standalone redundancy - it will work with the Internet or without it. We feel that this feature will be very important to customers who have wanted the convenience of an Internet-based POS but have not wanted to risk an operational shutdown if their Internet connection goes offline.``
Ryan Volberg, CEO of Vivonet, stated, ``Teaming up with MICROS has allowed us to bring a powerful new solution to the market. Our dynamic drill-down capabilities will allow MICROS customers to access any information they need, whenever they need it. This competitive advantage allows users to act on trends right away, making adjustments to pricing, menu items or promotions as needed. This revolutionizes business for both independent and chain restaurant operations, and we are pleased to be part of the development team that`s offering this revolutionary technical product.``
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