PADERBORN, Germany � Like the best dancer on the floor, Wincor Nixdorf apparently never lacks partners.

Karl-Heinz Stiller, the German company�s chief executive officer, in his address at the annual Wincor World trade event, noted that a record 70 partners ï¿½ including technology heavy hitters like Microsoft and Sun ï¿½ were in attendance. Because of limited floor space, the company had to turn down a similar number of companies that wanted to attend, Stiller said.

Wincor looks for partners that share a common focus on the customer and commitment to the latest, standards-based technologies, Stiller said. "You must open your mind, open your thinking, open your solutions," he said.

In a new partnership, announced and toasted with champagne at the show, Wincor agreed to jointly develop and market products with Aldata, a Finnish software developer with clients in 45 countries. Bundling Wincor�s Store Vision with Aldata�s G.O.L.D. software will offer retailers a way to link their front-office and back-office data ï¿½ so, for instance, the administration of discounts and other promotions is always up to date.

"This is a case where one plus one truly equals more than two," said Werner Brockhagen, a member of Aldata�s board of directors.

Better management of the supply chain is a goal shared by both of the industries Wincor serves � financial and retail. On the banking side of the floor, Wincor showed software tools like ProCash Optima, which is designed to help financial institutions determine the optimal mix of self-service, assisted self-service and teller technologies for different branch environments.

It may have been the sleep deprivation, but after a couple of strolls around the exhibit floor ï¿½ and perhaps a few too many espressos ï¿½ I noted even more commonalities in businesses that, until then, had seemed pretty dissimilar to me.

Both industries are poised to make major technology upgrades, driven at least in part by regulatory mandates such as Triple DES for bankers and EMV for retailers. Both are making the leap from proprietary operating systems to more flexible platforms. In both cases, standards-based software will make it easier and faster to develop new applications.

They both want to free their branch (or store) staff from routine tasks so they can concentrate on more complex (and hopefully profitable) interactions with customers.

Both offered their customers more channels for conducting transactions, hoping that at least some of them would migrate from teller lines and checkout lanes to less expensive options like online banking or shopping. The (somewhat unexpected) result for both was increased usage across multiple channels � resulting in a shared need for channel integration strategies.

Technology � whether it�s electronic shelf labels that eliminate "price checks" at the supermarket or software that allows ATM owners to link their machines to customer relationship management systems ï¿½ is about improving the customer�s experience, said Stiller.

In addition to Wincor�s partners, Stiller lauded the company�s own employees. "It�s the interplay of technology with the right people that leads to success," he said.

Wincor added some 1,300 new employees in the 2004 fiscal year and 170 in the first quarter of fiscal 2005, which ended Dec. 31, for a worldwide total of almost 6,300. Some of its biggest gains were in the service area. "You can only sell a product once, but you can provide good service over the long term," Stiller said.

Wincor expects its business to boom in the year ahead, Stiller said ï¿½ so much so that it now expects a 10 percent growth in net sales rather than the 7 percent it originally forecast and a 12 percent growth in operating profit rather than 8 percent. The company has already turned in a strong first quarter, with a 17 percent jump in sales and a 24 percent increase in EBITDA.

Stiller said Wincor will likely reach 2 billion euro (U.S. $2.6 billion) in sales within the next two years.