Microsoft Plugs Resellers Into POS Market

As part of its Smarter Retailing Initiative, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant released Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WePOS). The new product, rolled out in May, is based on protocols developed by the Association of Retail Technology Standards.

Microsoft is designing more standard versions of Windows Embedded for specific markets to reduce the cost and time it takes for partners to build and market solutions and to simplify deployment for customers. OEMs, hardware device vendors, peripherals manufacturers and systems integrators currently spend an inordinate amount of time trying to connect systems and applications that use different POS specifications, including the 10-year-old OLE for POS, JavaPOS as well as Microsoft's POS for .Net, said Jason Demeny, product manager for Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Division.

Having an industry-standard plug-and-play version of Windows Embedded that integrates peripherals, applications and the operating system should ease the process.

"One key pain point is it takes too bloody long to set up these systems," Demeny said. "This is an opportunity for us to create more benefit for retail and hospitality, and not only for point of sale but information kiosks and self-service checkout [as well]."

For instance, Hewlett-Packard previously has used Windows XP Embeddedand in some cases, Linuxon its retail systems. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based OEM plans to use WePOS on its forthcoming HP rp3000 retail systems, executives said, noting that this version of Windows will enable retail peripherals to be easily installed and managed on HP's retail systems for the first time.

"The integration and management of scanners, receipt printers, cash drawers [and] magnetic stripe readers provides increased flexibility and manageability at lower costs," said Robert Corbett, director of retail and distribution industry solutions at HP Americas. "Now it's easier, less costly and [less] time consuming."

Geoff Goetz, a former Microsoft executive and current business development manager at BSquare, a Microsoft Windows Embedded partner in Bellevue, Wash., said the new offering gives partners a reduced operating-system footprint for the POS environment. WePOS leverages the unique capabilities of the Windows Embedded operating system but offers standard peripherals plug-and-play support and eases deployment and maintenance of Windows XP Pro. "OEMs will be able to rapidly deploy POS devices using a standard OS image and installation process," he said.

While the plug-and-play capabilities of the new Windows Embedded version will eliminate some customization opportunities, services firms will find opportunities in driver development and customization for legacy peripherals as well as in developing new service objects and applications for the software, partners said.

"Licensing terms will allow POS manufacturers to ship functional devices to their resellers and VARs, where custom applications can be loaded," Goetz said. "This licensing model preserves the value-add of VARs."

Another Microsoft systems integrator said the new version will be useful for Intel-based solutions, but not for other processing architectures common in the retail sector.

Customers looking to deploy retail solutions on Intel, for example, can use WePOS, while others will continue to customize Windows CE-based offerings for retail systems deployed on other processors, said Derek Spratt, CEO of Intrinsyc Software, Vancouver, British Columbia.

"Most of our POS applications are WinCE/ARM- or XScale-based," Spratt said. "But I applaud Microsoft for producing it and supporting WePOS."