Microsoft Announces Key New Windows XP Embedded Technologies For Retail Point of Sale

DALLAS, Oct. 22, 2001 — Today at the Foodservice Technology Exposition (FS/TEC), Microsoft Corp. announced that the advent of Microsoft® Windows®
XP Embedded marks the first time that key technologies required by the new generation of retail point-of-sale (POS) solutions have been incorporated into a single, complete embedded offering.

“Microsoft is 100 percent committed to the retail industry,” said Ralph Young, vice president of the Enterprise Sales and Industry Group at Microsoft. “The retail industry urgently needs advanced operating system capabilities to accommodate the evolving challenges of customer interaction, store automation and multichannel commerce. Windows XP Embedded enables retailers to migrate to new technologies that will help them recognize direct business benefit and gain an advantage in today’s hyper-competitive market.”

Windows XP Embedded will provide retailers with one of the most reliable, flexible and customizable point-of-sale solutions on the market, while allowing for full integration with legacy systems and existing hardware. Key to using Windows XP Embedded for retail point of sale devices is its separation of the Windows XP operating system into components from which retailers can pick and choose according to their individual business needs, lowering the total cost of ownership and creating the smallest possible footprint for their POS systems.

Microsoft also announced today that a group of key retail solution providers, including IBM Corp., Fujitsu, NCR Corp., Wincor Nixdorf GmbH & Co. KG, Retalix Ltd. and others, will integrate Windows XP Embedded into their new POS offerings.

Many retailers today are making plans to update their POS solutions and are looking for systems that provide much greater functionality, interoperability and flexibility.

“IBM Retail Store Solutions thinks that Microsoft’s platform for retail point of sale is an attractive option for many retailers, and we will bring IBM hardware solutions to market that exploit these capabilities,” said Jocelyn Furniss, Worldwide Brand Marketing Director for IBM Retail Store Solutions.

Integrated into Windows XP Embedded will be a complete collection of mission-critical technologies, including USB support, dual monitor display, multiuser login — and remote boot and diskless operation in a future release — that anticipate and address the unique demands of the retail environment.

  • USB support enables “plug-and-play” installation of peripheral devices such as printers and scanners.

  • Dual monitor display capability eliminates the need to write custom software to enable deployment of monitors for both checkers and customers at POS stations.

  • Multiuser login allows two or more store personnel to be logged in simultaneously at a POS station — allowing, for example, a clerk to ring up a sale in another department, or a manager to override a transaction while the clerk stays logged in.

  • Remote boot capability allows POS devices to be managed from a central location and simplifies the deployment of software updates.

  • Diskless operation helps lower the total cost of ownership by eliminating the need for hard drives — moving parts prone to breakdown — in POS terminals.

  • Small memory footprint means that because the Windows XP operating system is organized into components, software developers and systems integrators can build a POS platform using only the components required. This allows for a POS platform configuration as small as 32 MB of RAM.

“NCR is committed to supporting Microsoft embedded operating systems on our retail POS platforms,” said Tracy Flynn, vice president for U.S. Hospitality Solutions at NCR. “Windows XP Embedded will provide even greater flexibility and functionality to meet the needs of demanding retail POS environments.”

Windows XP Embedded is expected to ship in late November of this year.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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Microsoft Retail Point-Of-Sale Platform

Key Industry Partner Quotes

“Windows XP Embedded will be a perfect complement to Fujitsu’s hardware and retail POS applications to enable users to reduce their total cost of ownership in the future. Fujitsu’s Windows-based TeamPoS 2000 system today helps retailers reduce costs, improve loyalty programs, enhance customer service and streamline their in-store technologies to ensure retailers are well-positioned for future growth. In February, the TeamPoS 2000 became the only POS terminal to earn certification from the Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs.”

— Ron Omohundro
Executive Vice President and General Manager
Fujitsu

“We are constantly working to deliver functionally rich POS software that is also cost-efficient and hardware-independent. Windows XP Embedded provides the right platform to allow us to accomplish all of these goals.”

— Barry Shaked
CEO
Retalix Ltd.

“By combining the technical and functional benefits of Windows XP Professional, such as the support of the .NET platform or support of branch standards such as OPOS with the feature of scalability, Windows XP Embedded appears as a very interesting platform for our strategic product development. For these reasons Wincor Nixdorf has decided to participate in the Microsoft Rapid Developer Program for Windows XP Embedded.”

— Michael Schulte
Head of Software Marketing, Retail Division
Wincor Nixdorf GmbH & Co. KG

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