The pennant races are in full swing, but the Astros and the White Sox aren't the only ones hitting home runs. If the first day is any indication, this week's Self-Service & Kiosk Show in San Francisco will be remembered as an industry high point.
With help from sponsors IBM, Zoom Systems and Whitech Software Solutions, and anchor partners PDNB Electronic Banking Solutions, St. Clair Interactive Communications Inc., friendlyway and Source Technologies, Networld Alliance welcomed a field of pre-qualified attendees to spend two days with a packed house of cutting-edge self-service developers.
The morning was devoted to three tracks of pre-conference workshops, with topics ranging from ROI to systems integration to usability design. Speakers included Mark Krogh, vice president of self-service solutions, retail services division for NCR; Doug Peter, president of St. Clair; Sylvia Berens, co-founder of Apunix Computer Services; Alex Richardson, managing director of Selling Machine Partners; Francie Mendelsohn, president of Summit Research Associates; and Greg Swistak, executive director of Kiosks.org Association.
Afternoon seminars were devoted to in-depth exploration of specific topics, and most of them were delivered to standing-room-only crowds. Peter Honebein, Ph.D. and Roy Cammarano, co-authors of "Creating Do-It-Yourself Customers," outlined the psychology of a customer and how education is pivotal in getting those customers to understand their new roles in a self-service society. Next door, Mark Krogh explored a retail self-service success story.
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| St. Clair's Doug Peter spoke to a capacity crowd. |
Gary Pageau, group executive of content development and strategic initiatives for Photo Marketing Association, explored the changing face of photography in his speech on "Photo Kiosk Trends." He explored how a few enterprising photo kiosk developers are taking the "Starbucks approach" – putting the machines in cozy, relaxing environments, and encouraging patrons to take their time and think of the experience as a break from their hectic day – and turning what was already a profitable business model and giving it whole new potential.
Several all-stars of the financial services world were on hand next door to explore ways to bring check-cashing, bill-pay and money transfers to the masses via self-service. Dave Grano, president and CEO of VERO, Sandra Hartfield, president and CEO of the electronic banking division of PDNB, and Hamed Shahbazi, chairman and CEO of Info Touch Technologies, led a discussion on how low-fee financial operations can bring value to retailers, and how best to structure such deals to maximize the value from each transaction.
Networld Alliance executive vice president of sales and marketing Bob Fincher led an enthusiastic crowd through his "State of the Art in Kiosk and Self-Service Solutions," a robust presentation that included fresh research done just prior to the show's opening. Next door, Nanonation's vice president of business development Brian Ardinger explored how to take self-service and make it a part of the entire retail experience, rather than just a device sitting in a fixed physical space.
It's showtime!
While classes were in session, exhibitors were busily preparing the "main event," and at 5:00 pm, that event roared to life. In a special welcome reception sponsored by IBM, the show floors were opened, and the sold-out exhibitor space was packed with enthusiastic attendees, ready to get specific answers to the questions that the day's classroom time had placed in their minds.
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| Sylvia Berens of Apunix speaks with an attendee on the show floor. |
"The organization of this show is really good," said Heinz Horstmann of PROVISIO, which is demonstrating its SiteKiosk browser software. "The customer support, the exhibitor services – it is all really good."
Attendees seemed similarly impressed.
"This show is definitely worth doing," said Klaus Pfeiffer, senior manager for Fujifilm Australia. "We're learning a lot."
On tap for Tuesday: Kiosks.org Association has its annual meeting, Cisco Systems' Mohsen Moazami presents the show's keynote address, panel discussions on digital signage and an "ask the experts" roundtable, plus more exciting displays and technologies on the show floor.
