Uniguest, a provider of print, technology and specialized services globally for hospitality, healthcare and other industries, has stated that they are expanding their kiosk division with the acquisition of Showcase Technology’ U.S. hotel business center customers. It's been a long road for Netstop/Moonrise/KioskLogix.
According to the company, Riverview Capital Advisors acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the principals of Uniguest in the acquisition and Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners financed the transaction. Exceptions to the agreement are Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Resorts and Fairmont Hotel properties, which Showcase, based in Torrance, Calif., will maintain.
Uniguest makes the lives of its clients and their customers easier and more productive by providing access to information through computer kiosks, digital signage and print materials. Uniguest's kiosk division offers security software protection, ongoing IT help desk support and general kiosk management for approximately 3,000 global hotel customers and more than 5,000 computer workstations. The acquisition will add close to 350 USA locations and 600 computer workstations.
CEO and Co-Founder of Uniguest, Shawn Thomas has stated that the Uniguest and Showcase have followed very similar paths over the last decade. As competitors, Uniguest started about the same time, both offering innovative, secure products for the hospitality industry and strong commitments to their customers. Uniguest expects many new developments, both in technology and future business deals, between the two companies.
The transaction or acquisition process will in no way affect customer services and they will continue to receive the same high level of support and Showcase software solutions.
Chairman and CEO of Showcase Technology, Paul Rajewski added that it’s a great experience working with Uniguest. Although they will continue to maintain their kiosks in Canada and at the Waldorf and Fairmont properties, the acquisition allows them to concentrate on their biggest strengths by developing technology and providing innovative solutions to complex problems for the hospitality industry.
Uniguest has exclaimed that they have become a reseller of Showcase's NetStop kiosk software as well as licensed Showcase's proprietary database management software for kiosks, as part of the acquisition. The addition of new software solutions to their already robust offerings has brought more value to their customers.
In related news Uniguest signed qualified vendor agreement with Choice Hotels and Uniguest and Thinix structured strategic partnership.
Uniguest Acquires Showcase Technology's U.S. Hotel Business Center Customers
New KIOSK website is up and going thru shakedown cruise before announcement. Completely redone. See http://www.kiosk.com. Let us know your comments at info at kiosk.com
Newsletter from KIOSK on new "stuff". Nice photos of new modular kiosk cafe for cybercafes as well as NEMA4 rated outdoor ticketing kiosk for Fujitsu. Digital signage and wayfinding 42" touchscreen project shown. Very nice three monitor EyeSite kiosk. For KioskCom there are a couple of entries including AT&T as deployer of the year.
Here is text version..
Self - Service KIOSK Information - April 2008
A quick preview of what's new at KIOSK…
New Milestones:
The KIOSK Team celebrated record-breaking 2007 year-end sales growth in December. Growth milestones in sales revenues, new customer wins, and market share increases combined for our best year ever and a very healthy entry point in 08'. Thank-you to all our customers for a great 2007, and for the strongest 2008 first quarter bookings in KIOSK's 15-year history!
KioskCom Vegas - Platinum Sponsor - Booth #214 - April 16th & 17th
KIOSK is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor for The KioskCom Self Service Expo and Digital Signage Show at Vegas' Mandalay Bay Convention Center. We're coming into 2008 with an outstanding complement of new hardware releases and successful customer deployments. We'll be fully staffed with our expert Sales, Engineering, Software and Product Development staff at the show. If you would like to book a private consultation at the show, please email [email protected].
New Kiosk Standard Models:
Since 2004, the Stubby Series has been an industry favorite. The 2008 series features 19-inch screens for an even more engaging self-service experience. The "Super Stubby" can be ordered as a countertop, pedestal, or wall-mount model. A full range of computing options provides very economic application platform choices. The series combines standard model savings with peak configuration and form factor flexibility - the ideal self-service solution mix!
New Modular Kiosk Café:
ZOOX Stations (KIOSK's subsidiary dedicated to the design and manufacturing of cutting edge Internet, business, entertainment, and gaming platforms) is introducing the NETZOOX Self-Serve Internet Café. Accelerated ROI is the cornerstone of the solution design, economically leveraging a single payment or production kiosk to serve multiple user stations. NETZOOX offers a full range of profitable turnkey application packages to help customers manage their busy lives on the road. Internet / Email, Casual Gaming, Office Services, and Laser Printing are all turnkey software solution options.
This modular and highly configurable hardware platform is also ideal for a number of vertical market applications in Education, HR, Retail, Government DMV, Corrections Institutes, and many others.
New Outdoor Model:
FUJITSU is introducing the U-Serv 150EX designed to increase customer service efficiency and convenience with outdoor self-service ticketing. With integrated environmental controls, this NEMA 4 rated kiosk can withstand the harshness of rain, high winds and extreme temperatures. The resilient touch screen display is designed for easy viewing under intense sunlight, resisting glare, dirt, and pollutants.
Integrated receipt printing and a multi-directional scanning device enable coupon redemption and other bar code promotions. Currently in their first volume production run, Fujitsu anticipates quick deployment with major entertainment companies looking to maximize their outdoor marketplace.
Fujitsu's U-Serv 150EX is a proud addition to KIOSK's expanding custom outdoor solution portfolio.
New Digital Signage:
With expanding Digital Signage market demand, we're pleased to introduce KIOSK I.D., an innovative 42" Interactive Digital Signage solution.
Advanced 3M MicroTouch DST touch screen technology provides a superior level of customer engagement and adds a valuable measurement element to digital advertising.
Anticipating further merging between traditional Digital Signage and transactional kiosks, KIOSK has integrated an insert credit card reader and receipt printing functionality as options to bridge advertising into on-the-spot sales transactions.
Application options are limited only by the imagination and can be deployed in venues from shopping malls and hotels, to transportation hubs and stadiums.
For years, KIOSK has featured dual screen kiosks that layer Digital Signage into traditional self-service transactional solutions. EyeSite™ Kiosk by SoloHealth, a 2008 Self Service Excellence Award Finalist, is among the best client examples KIOSK has seen of incorporating digital signage into an interactive application. Leveraging research and technology from Ciba Vision and EyeSite, SoloHealth has deployed the first self service vision health awareness kiosk designed to:
* Educate consumers on the importance of eye health
* Motivate them to book an eye exam with local eye doctors
* Grow the vision care market
The first company to incorporate three screens in their solution, SoloHealth features two screens for an interactive eye health-screening test. A third 19" Digital Signage screen draws consumers with informative video, attract loops, and in-store offers from participating vision care ad sponsors. It's a brilliant complement of features for accelerated ROI.
Advancing Deployments:
Additional customer deployments proudly featured in our booth and our KioskCom Self-Service Award Finalist line-up include:
* AT&T - Deployer of the Year Nominee
* Cabelas, The World's Foremost Outfitter - Best Retail Deployment Finalist
* Dave and Busters - Best Entertainment / Gaming Deployment Finalist, Best Overall Software Solution Finalist
* EyeSite Kiosk by SoloHealth - Best New Innovation in a Kiosk Deployment Finalist
KIOSK wishes each of our client nominees the best in the awards ceremony Wednesday evening, April 16th from 4:15 to 5:15 pm. All are outstanding examples of very profitable, best-in-class deployments.
Expanding International Footprint:
KIOSK's International presence is expanding monthly, with a number of new International customer wins, planned global deployments, and a growing list of authorized distributors. Under the leadership of KIOSK's International Sales Team, Dan Stewart and Karla Guarino, our list of International Distributors has more than tripled since 2007, and currently includes:
* Brazil - Ideas2Go
* Columbia - Xchange Agent, Inc.
* Dubai - Aptec, UAE
* Dubai - MXN
* Kuwait - KTS
* Monterrey, Mexico - NBVO
* Puerto Rico - Rafael Rosario & Associates
* UK - Kiosk Manufacturing, Ltd.
* Venezuela - Harps / Go2Pay
New distributors in Australia, Malaysia, and Nigeria are to be signed within the month. For international inquiries, please contact Dan Stewart, International Sales Director, [email protected]
New Sales Staff Members:
Abby Boes' East Coast Sales Team has expanded to include Eric Nebola as of late 2007. Eric moved into Sales after four years of Senior Engineering contributions to KIOSK. His technical expertise and second nature industry knowledge is a huge asset to the team. The East Coast region has had an exceptional run on Retail and Financial wins, coupled with exciting new prospects in Travel & Tourism.
Steve Jeziorski (L), West Coast Sales Representative, has been a key contributor to the success in the Western Region since 2006. Rick Freeman (R), a recent new graduate from UNC, is now supporting both Steve and Stacey Yeary with their expanding inside sales quoting demand and customer support requirements.
The Western Region is credited with expanding KIOSK's market share in Retail, Ticketing, Security, and Healthcare client growth.
Tim Stith (L) joined Patty McCann's Central Region Team in 2007, bringing strong technical and seasoned Sales Engineering talent to the team. New hire, Ben Shafer (R), was recently snatched up from Regis' Business College and is already making strong sales contributions to the region. KIOSK's Central Region talent continues to dominate in Photo, Gaming, Retail, Ticketing, and other key verticals.
RFP activity and new leads for Central (and all) regions continue to show strong growth and contribute to our optimistic industry outlook!
New Web Resources
We've added new content to our website! Learn about our new digital signage (and interactive signage) as well as learn about "thin client" options and going green-IT. Finally, be sure and configure an online quote with pricing via our WebQuote (even purchase online).
Links are:
* http://www.kis-kiosk.com/apps/digital_signage.html
* http://www.kis-kiosk.com/apps/thin_client.html
* http://www.kis-kiosk.com/webquote
The vast majority of our team will be at the KioskCom Self-Service Expo - we'd welcome the opportunity to discuss your specific project needs! Booth #214 - front and center at the show entrance!
For more information visit http://www.kiosk.com, or call 303-466-5471.
read more
Worth noting that KIOSK in Colorado has added new section to website for design and integration services for the IBM AnyPlace Kiosk. KIOSK has been doing projects as a certified business partner of IBM for years but this is first dedicated web collateral. See http://www.kis-kiosk.com/ibm_anyplace_kiosk.html
KIOSK Information Systems, in the midst of its best-ever sales season, is getting into a new, riskier sales game targeting the expanding gaming market.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
By Rick Redding
New Business is a Game for KIOSK
Popularity of Online Gaming Leads to Creation of ZAZOOX Game Cafe
KIOSK Information Systems, in the midst of its best-ever sales season, is getting into a new, riskier sales game targeting the expanding gaming market.
Specifically, KIOSK is betting that the online gaming community will flock to machines that allow them to play the latest games against others folks – online, in real time – at a variety of public locations.
KIOSK formed a wholly owned subsidiary, ZOOX Stations, Inc., to launch the new initiative. It is calling the new product the ZAZOOX Game Cafe.
Tom Weaver, KIOSK’s sales and marketing vice president, said the company is going into uncharted waters with its new gaming kiosk. While KIOSK is taking a gamble on the initiative, the online player gaming market seems to be one that could pay off.
“We’re not changing our business model. Our OEM business is going very well. We’re not software guys. We are going down a different avenue," he said. "It's really our first push on a turnkey solution."
And Weaver says the new product is having a coming-out party at the Amusement and Music Operators Association Expo Sept. 27 in Las Vegas. It marks KIOSK's first appearance at the show, and Weaver said he hopes to meet potential distributors for the gaming machines, as well as representatives of retail chains with the ability to buy the machines in bulk.
"It's our first real product we've built a go-to-market strategy around," he said.
Thus far, KIOSK has been testing the game stations in about 100 Army barracks and a handful of public establishments, including truck stops, nightclubs, malls and college campuses. He said the mechanics of the operation, including maintenance, Internet connections and payment acceptance, have been fully tested.
The business case is compelling, Weaver said, with a measurable ROI predicted for six to 12 months.
KIOSK’s gamble is that people will go to public places to play online games against others, whether their opponent is sitting in the next game chair or on the other side of the world. The market has typically served individuals in their homes.
“Multi player online gaming is a hot new market,” Weaver said, citing statistics that indicate the market will reach $2 billion in the next year. KIOSK estimates the online gaming market at $500 million.“The secret sauce in the deal is the way content is provided to end user.”
Content is provided by game producers who traditionally sell their software in retail, often for around $50 per game, to be played on PlayStation and XBox systems. When a consumer buys a game, he typically plays it on a home system. But the beauty of KIOSK's system is that it makes popular games available for play for quarters per minute.
KIOSK Information Systems (KIOSK), a leading provider of self-service kiosk solutions, announced its compliance with the European directive 2002/95/EC on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and also its new status as a certified "Green Partner" for Sony Corporation.
Fulfillment of the RoHS directive and compliance with WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) are part of KIOSK's overall strategic initiative to support ongoing global environmental programs.
"As a world supplier of innovative solutions, KIOSK is committed to the goal of producing products in accordance with legislative standards established to protect human health, and that are in line with global environmental obligations," said Dan Houck, COO of KIOSK. "We're pleased to comply with RoHS directives, having invested heavily for the past few years in our business and manufacturing infrastructure and in helping our customers and suppliers develop attainable transition programs. As a result, we are proud to validate compliancy with KIOSK Declarations of Product Compliance, third party test reports, and Certificates of Conformance for components and materials. In a continuing initiative, KIOSK is actively pursuing processes and methodologies to address the WEEE Directive for the treatment, recovery and recycling of electric and electronic equipment."
Sony has established its own global standards for management of chemical substances, titled "Management Regulations for the Environment-Related Substances to be Controlled which are included in Parts and Materials" (SS-00259) and is implementing control of certain specified chemicals in parts and materials. Sony has established the "Green Partner Environmental Quality Approval Program" in 2002, which outlines Sony's Green Partner Standards, the standards for chemical substance management, and audits suppliers based on these standards. In fiscal 2005, approximately 3,500 supplier and 200 OEM suppliers were certified as Green Partners. See http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/procurementinfo/green.html
Under the above mentioned chemical substances management system, Sony has prohibited the use of six chemical substances in parts and materials specified in the RoHS Directive. By the end of fiscal 2005, Sony has completed elimination of those specified chemicals from all Sony products, not only for the European market, but also for the worldwide market.
About KIOSK Information Systems (KIOSK):
KIOSK Information Systems is the world leader in design, manufacturing, service and support of indoor and outdoor kiosks, public Internet stations and other electronic self-service informational terminals. KIOSK is the OEM manufacturer of self-service terminals for Dell, Hewlett Packard, Sony Photo, US Transportation Security Administration and many others. KIOSK corporate clients include McDonalds, Ticketmaster, FedEx, Safeway, Citibank, Disney, Exxon Mobil, US Postal Service and Wal-Mart, as well as numerous government agencies and universities. KIOSK has facilities in Louisville, CO and Falkirk, Scotland, UK. Major vertical product markets include Retail, HR, Government, Photo and Digital Media, Voting, and OEM kiosk services. http://www.kiosk.com
KIOSK Meets European RoHS Compliance Directive: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
How Swift Transportation is using HR kiosk terminals to help the company serve its mobile workforce.
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
By Rick Redding
Making Swift Work
Drivers Are Happy with new Digital Dashboards
When Swift Transportation drivers arrive at a terminal, the first thing many do is check their digital dashboard at the company�s Informer kiosks, where information on paychecks, benefits, log violations and company-provided e-mail is at their fingertips.
�Independence is import for our employees,� said Lindsey Lundeen, employee communications coordinator at Swift. �When you�re a mobile employee, you want to have a consistent, accurate resource no matter where you are. For us, it�s a simple way to keep in touch with a mobile workforce.�
Swift�s Informer kiosks were installed in August at 38 company-operated terminals and a dozen other locations in 28 states. The 150 kiosks are available to Swift�s 23,000 drivers, plus 2,000 non-driver employees, and their popularity is spreading like wildfire within the company.
Lundeen said that in November, there were 98,000 user sign-ons, and that the length of user sessions has increased from 1.2 minutes in the first month of use to 2.14 minutes this month. The kiosks provide information on payroll, benefits, permits, training and safety information, truck repair manuals and parts availability, as well as e-mail, company news, weather, and driving directions.
She said the kiosks solve a number of issues for Swift, not the least of which is retaining a traditionally transient workforce.
�If we increase driver retention by one percent, it would pay for itself,� she said. �At first, some drivers were hesitant to use it, because they thought there was a fee to use it. Now they�re excited to have access to their account information, and they can keep in touch with their family by e-mail.�
Kiosk Information Systems of Louisville, Colo. provided hardware and ongoing service, and Netkey of Branford, Conn. supplied the software. Those two companies have a history of success in Human Resources applications, according to KIS territory manager Bob Harlow. Among their joint HR clients are the U.S. Postal Service and the Walt Disney Co.
Article on self-service kiosk awards at KioskCom 2005 where the Burn-A-Song kiosk designed/entered by Kiosk Information Systems and TouchNSurf took first place.
Excerpt:
Music to go
The Burn A Song kiosk, designed by Colorado-based Kiosk Information Systems and Los Angeles-based Touch N Surf, resembles a high-tech jukebox on the surface: Users browse music by genre, touch album covers to view offerings by artist, and finally select the songs they want. But while a jukebox simply plays the selected songs, Burn A Song does just what it�s name implies and spits out a custom-burned CD filled with the purchased tunes.
It�s an impressive application, even more so given the licensing requirements for the content being dispensed.
"This is a budding market, and the barriers to entry are high," said company president Shervin Rashti. "It is very difficult to acquire content licensing from the major labels."
According to Rashti, Burn A Song has established a relationship with Billboard, allowing the machine to offer preselected playlists based on those charts.
"This helps us speed the song selection process, and get the user what they need quickly and hassle-free," Rashti said.
The CD that emerges from the kiosk is custom-printed with a color label. While they�re waiting, customers can send video e-mail to a friend. The machine can also be extended with couponing, cross-promotions, and the sale of other digital products like games and ring tones.
"The growth potential for this market is enormous, and will include its own verticals that will revamp the way people get their media," Rashti said. "Very exciting!"
http://www.burnasong.com
http://www.kis-kiosk.com/vending/burnasong.html
Original Story Link
Kiosk company expecting employment, sales growth
EXCLUSIVE REPORTS
From the March 5, 2004 print edition
Kiosk company expecting employment, sales growth
Tom Locke
Denver Business Journal
After a couple of tough years in 2001 and 2002, kiosk maker Kiosk Information Systems Inc. is back on the fast-growth track, almost tripling its year-over-year production of kiosks to nearly 8,000 in 2003.
This year it expects to double that number to 16,000 units and increase employment to about 100 by the end of 2004, up from an average of about 70 now and 45 a year ago, said President Rick Malone, 46, who founded the business in 1993.
The new employees will be added at the company's 65,000-square-foot headquarters building in Louisville, where it assembles kiosk parts it outsources from various parts of the country and the world.
"They're one of the leaders, if not the leader, in the business. They're doing great," said Francie Mendelsohn, president of Rockville, Md.-based kiosk consulting and research firm Summit Research Associates.
Mendelsohn said the firm produces high-quality kiosks, is cost-effective and can deliver quickly. And though competitor IBM Corp. has picked up some of the big digital photograph kiosk orders in 2003 from Fuji and Kodak, the little company in Louisville can definitely compete with IBM, she said.
"Not only are they good guys, they have a very impressive work ethic," Mendelsohn said. "They just don't ship subpar products."
Amy Garland, marketing manager for Portland, Ore.-based health and lifestyle information company Healthnotes Inc., said her company picked Kiosk because of its "expertise in developing kiosks for the retail environment." It has provided an "excellent amount of service" to Healthnotes, she added.
Even the battle against terrorism comes within the Kiosk domain. Kiosks from the company are being tested at the Miami and Baltimore airports to check foreign visitors entering and leaving the United States by taking their pictures, scanning the bar codes on their passports and recording their thumbprints.
The demand for such kiosks by the Department of Homeland Security for airports, seaports and other departure/entry points might be about 10,000 units, Malone said, but even that "could be scratching the surface." He foresees the potential for using such security kiosks for checks at ordinary office buildings, for instance.
"It sounds a little James Bond, but how far are you going to go with your security?" he asks.
Of the company's 2003 revenue, about half came from kiosks designed for human resources uses, 30 percent from public Internet systems and the other 20 percent from miscellaneous uses.
In the HR arena, Kiosk's customers include the U.S. Postal Service, Pepsi and other big names. It supplied 2,700 units to Wal-Mart last year for job-application kiosks and nearly 400 kiosks to the Walt Disney Co., which enable cast members at theme parks to schedule vacation time and check out their health insurance plans.
The HR kiosks have a payoff period of as little as three months and are attracting considerable interest because of their accuracy, elimination of waiting lines and cost savings on labor.
Kiosk also produced 3,000 public-Internet kiosks last year. Examples can be seen at Denver International Airport, where the kiosks provide Internet-access uses such as checking e-mail or stock quotes for 25 cents a minute. The airport has eight "Shibby" kiosk locations, with four units each, on its three concourses.
Within 90 days, the public Internet units made by Kiosk will have the capability of downloading music to either a memory device, such as an MP-3 player, or a CD provided by the kiosk.
Mobile phone company Cricket Communications Inc. uses kiosks to enable users to "recharge" their phones with incremental minutes by putting cash in a machine at the kiosk. And Kiosk has a QuickPix product that lets users manipulate digital photographs -- and even insert balloons with smart-alecky captions -- and then print them immediately.
Kiosk has grown fast for most of its life. Yearly revenue rose from $60,000 in its first full year in 1994 to $1.2 million the next year, and then to $1.8 million, $4 million, $5 million, $7.5 million and $13 million by 2000.
Kiosk was projecting revenue of $20 million for 2001, but then the Internet bubble burst and the company posted lower revenue in 2001 than 2000, the first year-to-year decline in its history.
That was partly because retailers hurt by the economic slowdown cut kiosk marketing experiments, and partly because dot-com companies using Internet-related kiosks closed down. Plus, travel dove after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and that hurt the use of travel-related kiosks.
Some kiosk uses just haven't worked, Malone said. For instance, kiosks are too expensive for advertisement or marketing purposes, he said, and single-purpose kiosks devoted to sales of products such as flowers or car insurance also have been unsuccessful.
The hybrid public Internet kiosk is exciting because of its potential multiple purposes, including everything from Web access to music CD creation, photo prints and money orders, Malone said.
The company's revenue rose in 2002, but still not to the $13 million level of 2000. It posted minimal losses in 2001 and 2002 but made it back to profitability in 2003, when revenue took off again, reaching two-and-a-half times the level of 2002.
Malone declined to provide an exact revenue figure for 2003, but said it was "well into the mid-20s" in millions of dollars.
Kiosk prices can vary widely, from as little as $1,200 to as much as $20,000. That's why the number of produced units could increase 100 percent this year while producing a rise in revenue of only 50 percent.
"We would be slightly ahead of the industry, if we grew as expected," Malone said. "The pipeline is very full and it looks very promising."
One element helping the company land business is its ISO 9001 certification, he said. That designation is designed to assure buyers of a high-quality production process.
Summit Research projects North America's installed base of kiosks will grow from 201,000 in 2003 to about 325,000 by 2007, while the number of kiosks in Europe will grow from 159,000 to 290,000. That translates to 255,000 units added in four years.
One reason for the sales growth at Kiosk in particular is the use of outside sales offices now established in San Diego, Minnesota, New York and Texas. Also, the inside sales force has grown.
But the company's not just about growth and the quality of its products. Malone, who has been married for 17 years and has two children, said the company culture includes a balancing of career and quality of life.
He thinks he's managed that, despite the company's rapid growth since its humble beginnings. Kiosk started out with less than $100,000 in funding from two investors and an SBA-guaranteed loan for $70,000 through First National Bank of Fort Collins.
It has grown without infusions of outside equity capital, and Malone sees no financial requirement to go public. At some point, Kiosk might consider an acquisition offer, he said, but he thinks there's plenty of opportunity to increase the value of the company before that happens.
"The management team is committed to grow this to its highest valuation," Malone said.
Kiosk company expecting employment, sales growth - 2004-03-08 - The Denver Business Journal
December 23 - newsletter posted to newsgroup
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Kiosk Information Systems designs, manufactures, delivers and supports touchpoint kiosks.
KIS is the largest producer of kiosks in North America and has complete engineering, design, and support
for interactive kiosks.
It is all we do. Call us at 303-466-5471