story continues below... advertisement     This story and all of our great free content is supported by:     ArcaTech Systems | Scanners | Acceptors | Dispensers  As a leading supplier of transaction automation solutions for the financial, retail and self-service industries, ArcaTech offers cash dispensers, cash recyclers, check image scanners, encrypting pin pads and coin dispensing systems to help users to experience better transactions.

"We are seeing more and more applications on a single device," Jorett said. "It’s much like the evolution of the PC. It started as a word processor and grew to include e-mail and so much more."

 

Savings are also a great benefit of multifunctional kiosks. In addition, since many single-function kiosks are not utilized at all times of the day, a multifunction kiosk makes better use of both the machine and the customer’s time.

"Even though most kiosks have a primary purpose such as banking, bill payment, or another industry specific solution, companies don’t have to limit themselves to a single resolve; it’s not a one-trick pony," said Bill Lynch, Source’s vice president of strategic development. "It’s quite an investment to have the device provide only a single solution. When considering the cost of development, hardware, software and ongoing support, companies will want to examine the possibilities of the unit supporting multiple applications for their businesses."

Jorett said he finds retailers asking the question, "Why shouldn’t multiple applications exist on one device?"

"As history has shown retailers, there will be a future application that they’ll want to adopt. A multifunction kiosk will be able to accommodate this need.

"If we look at the current applications, most of them are not used all day. So it just doesn’t make sense to have a single-function kiosk in most situations," Jorett said.

A model multifunction kiosk?

Source Technologies’ interactive kiosks are next-generation self-service platforms designed from the ground up for flexible, high-performance, point-of-interaction applications in retail, banking, hospitality, health care and other industries. The SK12 retail kiosk features an exceptionally bright 12-inch LCD display, a modular design for fast expansion and reconfiguration of devices in the field and a powerful Windows-compatible processor, supporting a broad range of in-store applications.

Options such as touchscreen display, CCD or laser scanner, easy-load thermal printer, signature pad, full-duplex speakerphone and magnetic-card reader let retailers deploy the SK12 Interactive Kiosk in multiple configurations for a variety of uses.

The suite of applications includes pre-designed applications or the tools for application development and device control, allowing customers to rapidly prototype, test and deploy software applications.

The SK12 Interactive Kiosk offers the performance, capacity and throughput needed for a variety of retail applications. In addition to the standard configuration, a broad range of factory-installed upgrades, field-installable options, and the suite of applications are available.

"Traditionally, retailers have been limited to single-function kiosks that perform price checking only," said Bryan Jorett, Source Technologies’ vice president of retail solutions. "Our interactive kiosks are distinctive in that they are the first to offer retailers a flexible device that performs multiple services for self-service beyond simple price checking. Retailers appreciate the multifunctionality of the kiosks."

This story is excerpted from the free how-to guide "The Benefits of Multifunction Kiosks."