Dusty Lutz, general manager of NCR Netkey, agreed to answer some questions for SelfServiceWorld.com and KioskMarketplace.com about the company's future in the wake of Netkey's acquisition by NCR Corp.
Here are five questions for NCR Netkey:
Q: Company officials have already talked about how NCR sees a ‘blurring of the lines" between digital signage and kiosk applications. How does the addition of Netkey bolster that continuing convergence?
A: "There is increasing interest in enabling interactivity with large format screens, in essence combining the best of digital signage with self-service kiosks to create a more immersive and engaging consumer experience. The digital signage helps drive the visual merchandising marketing messages while the kiosk provides the ability for the consumer to view product and services information and, if necessary, order and purchase from the device.
"Using software that is optimized to support the workflows around both signage content delivery and touch screen enablement is the key to successful interactive digital media deployments, and this is what the NCR Netkey platform delivers today."
Q: With Netkey, how is NCR better positioned to move forward with digital signage and kiosk applications, and possibly pure digital signage apps?
A: "With the acquisition of Netkey, NCR has expanded its portfolio of self-service and kiosk applications. In parallel, having the Netkey software allows NCR to move aggressively into the marketplace for digital signage-only solutions. Netkey has a modern, robust software product and one of the largest installed bases of screens in North America, and we have aggressive expansion plans for the NCR Netkey digital signage solution in 2010. There is a tremendous demand for a feature-rich, market-proven digital signage software product that is sold and supported on a global basis by a company with the experience, reputation and depth of resources that NCR brings to the table."
Q: How will this most directly affect the deployers of NCR or NCR Netkey solutions?
A: "This acquisition is a plus for the customers of both NCR and Netkey. Businesses that trust NCR for point of sale, ATM, self-check-in and other self-service solutions now have access to Netkey's self-service and digital signage applications and management software platform. For Netkey's customers, they have the confidence of knowing that their Netkey solution is now backed by a Fortune 500 technology leader that is committing the resources to enhance and expand the Netkey product suite and the customer support infrastructure."
Q: NCR provides total solutions — both hardware and software. Netkey was strictly software and therefore "hardware agnostic." Will Netkey software continue to be available for hardware other than NCR's?
A: "Absolutely! We are committed to offering Netkey as a best-in-class software solution able to be deployed on the kiosk and digital signage hardware that is most applicable to meeting the customer's exact need. We demonstrated this commitment in NCR's booth at the National Retail Federation Expo in January, where we had Netkey software running not only on NCR hardware but also on kiosks from IBM and Olea, and digital signage displays from Samsung. Netkey has a long history of delivering successful projects working in partnership with providers such as IBM, KIOSK Information Systems, Frank Mayer and Associates and others, and we will continue to do so when that is in the best interest of the customer."
Q: And finally, how can the two companies' strengths complement each other to lead to new product innovations?
A: "We are barely four months along with the combined company and we have already made great progress toward not only identifying but developing new, highly innovative products and services that leverage the best aspects of what NCR and Netkey have to offer. One of NCR's strengths is the relationships we have built with businesses over our 125-year history. These relationships have been earned by listening to our customers and providing a wide range of proven solutions that deliver measurable value. Netkey, as a smaller organization, has been focused on targeting and addressing the very specific requirements of organizations that are looking to drive sales and enhance the customer and employee experience using kiosks and digital signage. Together, NCR Netkey brings to customers the best of both worlds, with a focus on innovation backed by deep tradition."
