Independent software house Logica Plc and fault-tolerant transaction processing specialist Stratus Computer have agreed to market StoreNet/2 networking and data collection system. As announced at EPOS ’88 (CI No 1,017), StoreNet/2 is a communications system developed by Dallas-based Shared Financial Systems that provides a link between point-of-sale, automatic teller machine and other terminals, and corporate host systems. Although the system was developed for the US market, Logica sales manager Alistair Hardie claims that StoreNet/2’s flexibility will mean a diverse UK user base, predominantly among UKP150m turnover companies. He says the growth in companies with instore credit cards, the introduction of debit cards, the growth of retailers with a variety of hosts all provide opportunities. The two companies also point to the spate of takeovers in retailing in recent years; purchasers buy an entire system and they say firms want systems that will fit into their own existing communications. Logica also point to the trend towards in-store data processing. Continental Europe is another target, and Logica thinks it can market software for Europe within 18 months. There have been $2.5m worth of contracts for the system already: the US AAFES network with which all US military bases are linked; Canadian retailer Dylex – which currently uses an ICL system; the Mickey Mouse Organisation in Disneyland has purchased two systems for $700,000 for data collection; and finally Shell Australia for use on its petrol pumps. The two firms are confident that the benefits provided by StoreNet/2 will overcome preferences for single vendor solutions to retail communiactions. They claim higher levels of fault tolerance, compatibility with the next generation of POS terminals, the ability to transmit information through a single pipeline – eliminating the need for multiple lines to each carry different forms of data – a downloading mechanism and 24 hour operations that take pressure off mainframe and allows for quicker provision of sales activities, financial settlements and reports. In addition, it is claimed that the Stratus system is also powerful enough to function as a centralised front-end processor. They also maintain that flexibility allows retailers to use the system to fill gaps in particular areas – for instance they say NCR systems do not offer processing facilities for debit and credit cards.
