In business today, 24x7 access to data is becoming the standard for success. A company can only respond rapidly to changing market conditions and shifting consumer demands when the enterprise is integrated and connected.

That's the reality, and software companies know it-a fact confirmed by answers from software executives to questions from Retail Systems Reseller. Increasingly, their strategies focus on providing users with connectivity and accesskeeping the doors to the databanks always open.

That's important for VARs, who often are responsible for installing and guarding those doors.

"We expect that our VARs will offer the level of service in their support, training and client services that we would ourselves if we were dealing directly with the customer," says Brian Critchfield, national sales and marketing manager for Quality Design Systems (QDS), Meridian, ID. "Our ideal VAR would strive for the same level of customer satisfaction that we do."

CAUGHT IN THE WEB
Providing that satisfaction starts with an understanding of the data needs of retailers and restaurant operators at this juncture.

"It has become critical for our customers to integrate all the methods in which they do business," says Jane Giggal, vice president strategic development at Vigilant Business Software, Toronto. "This means no matter how they sell, where or how much, their expectations are that the solution should accommodate their needs."

Increasingly, this is accomplished through Web technologies. "Once the IT 'plumbing' is installed, many intea-company and interstore functions can be linked," notes Tony Abruzzio, general manager of Go Software, an ROI corporation, based in Savannah, GA. "The most important trend for system architecture is `centralized' architecture, which provides Webbased applications," agrees April Andras Cantu, product manager for Aloha, Bedford, TX.

She goes a step further, commenting that "the centralized architecture facilitates the application service provider [ASP] model. "The process to roll out new applications is fast and cost-effective," she notes. "Upgrading Web-based applications is virtual and can be handled via the Internet. Centralized system architecture also allows for scalability, which allows the applications to mature over time."

"We recognize the opportunity that the Internet offers businesses worldwide," states David Bassiri, president of Reporting to the MAX, Boise, ID. "Resellers and customers alike need to be educated about the tools-such as HTML-available to implement ecommerce solutions."

Michel Cote, vice president/general manager of POSERA Corporation, Montreal, says his company is "getting more requests for Web integration. The two biggest requests are being able to integrate the POS to a Web transaction site, and Web-enabling the application so the end user can access sales information via a Web browser."

But Glen Carroll, director of channel sales for ParTech, New Hartford, NY, observes that, "like all people, [hospitality/retail] customers thought the Web was going to be the end-all. It is not. It is a valuable tool to access data on a timely basis."

Similarly, Eric Thueson, president of RegistWare, Boise, ID, notes that smaller companiesthe target market for his company's software-"rarely ask for or need Web integration. The time savings of an integrated system versus manual processing of Web orders is not that big. Integration and maintenance are labor and skill intensive. Before Web integration is feasible, the retailer must first integrate their multistore solution. Once this is running smoothly, adding Web integration is fairly simple." In the payment processing arena, "there has not been great demand for Web integration for retail point-of-sale payment processing thus far," says Holli Hobbs, marketing coordinator for THALES e-Transactions, Atlanta. "However, as smart cards gather momentum in the U.S., we anticipate the requests for Web integration to accelerate."

BREAKING THROUGH
But there are obstacles vendors and VARs must overcome in promoting Web technologies.

Says QDS' Critchfield: "Many of our end users don't even have Internet access at their stores, let alone the necessary technical knowledge. The first step is getting them to automate their internal processes, and then you can move on to Web integration. A big part of what we do-as well as our VARs-is educate."

In addition, "there is major concern over the security of payments processed over the Web," says Hobbs of THALES. However, she adds that "smart cards have the ability to store enough information to properly identify the card user."

Go's Abruzzio believes that the security issue has less to do with actual problems than with "programmers' preconceptions."

He states, "Yes, the Internet can have problems and slowdowns, and more. And there are workarounds, just as there are if the electricity or telephones go out."

Cote of POSERA agrees that security is an obstacle. "The architecture of the network is another," he says. "Sometimes, the customer does not understand that the foundation of the system is the quality of the network available."

Giggal of Vigilant adds, "In order to accommodate multi-channel retailing, the solution must be built to do so. The solution must provide fast, stable and reliable delivery and integration of the information. A simulation, or plugging in a series of third-party products to accomplish the unification of processes, does not provide the seamlessness or efficiency required."

One difficulty, Abruzzio notes, is "untrained programmers' integration design preconceptions. Programmers tend to approach an integration with mountains of knowledge and valleys of ignorance. They know what they know very well, and do not know. . . what they do not know. These mountains and valleys, along with the creative spirit of the programmers, will drive many integration projects way off track."

THE WIRELESS WORLD
Hand-in-hand with the growing prominence of Web-based architectures is the ascendance of wireless technologies.

Both Keith Neerman, president of Touch Industries, Atlanta, and Carroll of ParTech predict continued growth in wireless/handheld devices (and also in touchscreen technology).

"Wireless technology is rapidly evolving and plays an increasing role in the business world," says Cougar's Bassiri. "Businesses are relying on the technology, such as handheld data collectors and scanners, to conduct operations from remote locations."

"Wireless Application Protocol [WAP] is one of the most important emerging technologies," comments Cantu of Aloha. For example, she notes, WAP allows users "to receive their customized reports and alerts via their cellular phones:'

"The addition of handheld technology to existing architecture is becoming an exciting prospect to our customers," observes Critchfield at QDS. POSERA'S Cote notes that "we spent a lot of time in the past year to incorporate a wireless/handheld solution to our existing product because we believe that it is the future."

PLATFORM CHOICES
While everyone agrees on the growing importance of Internet connectivity and wireless devices, there's some debate over likely directions in platforms.

Thueson declares that "Microsoft is King," and that its new version of Visual Basic, Windows XP and its NET technologies will become similarly important-a view shared by Neerman.

Critchfield agrees that Windows XP will be "the operating system of choice because of the ability to interface with other business tools."

Bassiri notes that Windows 95 and 98 "are quickly becoming obsolete," and predicts that "SQL data engines will become more prevalent at the low-end segment within the next two years."

However, Abruzzio contends that while "Windows is more prevalent and has more units deployed,

Unix and Linux are both gaining footholds, and those operating systems are becoming more robust and cost-effective over time."

Giggal contends that Linux "is gaining recognition quickly." And Carroll notes the "slow movement to Java, not the domination we expected. It is like the marketplace is holding its breath to understand the impact of 2000 and XP"

VAR CHALLENGES
All software executives agree that the role of the VAR is often critical, not just in providing technology, but in implementation, customization and service as well.

Abruzzio makes a key point in saying that GO seeks "partnering spirit" from its resellers.

And Carroll offers cautionary advice: "A VAR should bring something to the game that no one else does. What sets you apart, what makes you different. Don't just show me another table service package. I have seen them all. Short of something spectacular, you are going to struggle for domination in some small niche."