Aruba launches smartphone- and tablet-based point-of-sale solution for retailers


By Telecom Lead Team: Aruba Networks has
launched a new smartphone- and tablet-based point-of-sale (PoS) solution,
to support the retail migration from static to mobile PoS.


The solution was developed in association
with Infinite Peripherals and LightSpeed, and enables retail sales staff
to execute sales transactions reliably and securely from any location in a
store.


According to a survey, 56 percent said that
they were upgrading in-store WiFi in 2012 to support advanced applications such
as mobile PoS. Fifty-six percent of respondents also said that they would be
rolling out Apple iPads and 38 percent said they would be deploying iPhones to
their staff as part of these solutions in 2012.


“Mobile PoS systems built around
smartphones and tablets are changing the way people shop, and offer retailers a
number of benefits, including higher volume, an improved customer experience
and more usable floor space at their locations,” said Sahir Anand, vice
president and research group director for retail and banking at
Aberdeen Research.


The new solution combines Infinite
Peripherals’ Linea-Pro, a combination barcode scanner/credit card swipe
reader with LightSpeed Mobile, a mobile PoS application for the iGeneration,
supported by Aruba access networks based on the Aruba Mobile Virtual Enterprise
(MOVE) architecture.


Access networks based on Aruba’s
context-aware Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture enables policy
enforcement based on device-fingerprinting, application-fingerprinting and
location.


This enables retailers to prioritize mobile
PoS applications over less critical traffic, to ensure a good customer
experience. Aruba’s Mobile Device Admission Control (MDAC) helps ensure that
smartphone and tablets can be shipped directly to stores for quick and easy
self-provisioning by general sales staff.


“Apple revolutionized the retail industry
with the introduction of smartphone-based point-of-sale systems in its stores.
Having tested the waters there, consumers are increasingly demanding the same
experience from other stores where they shop. This solution is designed to
ensure that retailers of all types can provide that high level of customer
experience and the associated sales uplift,” said Manish Rai, head of industry
and solutions marketing at Aruba.


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