GREENSBORO, N.C. — Gilbarco Veeder-Root is upgrading its Passport point-of-sale (POS) with Acumera’s Reliant Platform.
The containerization development currently in progress for Passport simplifies the traditional POS architecture, enabling faster updates and increased overall uptime and resiliency. Running Passport as a container-based application on Acumera’s Reliant Platform allows for full local redundancy of the POS—even when internet connectivity fails.
“We’re very excited about what containerization means for Passport customers, how it enables edge computing in the short term but also facilitates cloud hosting in the future, when and if customers demand it,” said Chris Whitley, vice president of sales and marketing North America for Gilbarco Veeder-Root. “Retailers today can’t afford to be offline, and we believe this technology brings us a significant step closer to near-zero downtime. It will be a game-changer for all c-store retailers.”
Currently, most POS systems require each cashier terminal to run a range of necessary applications along with extra hardware components. A containerized Passport system will run all those applications from a local edge server. This new architecture provides for greater hardware flexibility, lower capital investment, faster deployment and maximum uptime.
“The future of c-store retailing is based on providing personalized customer experiences through technology with improved uptime and reliability,” said Phil Stead, vice president of edge platform sales at Acumera. “Acumera’s Reliant Platform accelerates Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s cloud-to-edge strategy, thereby enabling the delivery of systems and applications at scale. We are honored to partner with Gilbarco Veeder-Root to help customers move their businesses forward.”
Along with fewer components and simplified architecture, containerization gives retailers new options such as the ability to use Passport POS software on any browser-friendly hardware they choose. Edge servers are easily upgraded, which allows retailers to add unlimited numbers of dispensers without changing the store’s POS architecture, providing flexibility on the forecourt as well.
Austin, Texas-based Acumera is a supplier of network operation, visualization and security services via orchestration of business, networking and security workloads. It secures entire networks, POS systems and internet-of-things devices and safeguards data, maximizes uptime, provides device visibility and simplifies compliance for convenience store, healthcare, restaurant, retail, unmanned parking and other businesses. Acumera’s scalable platform provides a full suite of containerized edge computing workloads for security, monitoring, management, analytics, loyalty programs and more. It is listed on the Visa and Mastercard global registries of PCI compliant service providers.
Greensboro, N.C.-based Gilbarco Veeder-Root specializes in retail and commercial fueling operations. Major product lines include fuel dispensers, pump media, point-of-sale systems, payment systems, tank gauges and fleet management systems.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.