C S P Apri l 2011 55

The moment Les Rose could remotely access the point-of-sale (POS) registers at his

company’s 52-store chain was the day he could fi nally take an out-of-town vacation.

“For many years, I couldn’t leave the city,” says Rose, IT manager for Las Vegas-based Rebel Oil Co., which has developed its system to the point where it can spot bad credit cards. “Today I have an 8-inch notebook

[computer], so all I need is a wireless [connection] and I have the speed, power and connectivity to provide remote support.”

Buoyed by advances in telecom-munications and consumer electron-ics (see timeline, below), the ability to remotely tie into one’s store automa-tion—from video cameras to tank monitors, safes to coolers—is rapidly becoming an industry standard, pos-ing a competitive threat to operators

who can’t keep up.The world of remote is evolving as

many tech issues reach the forefront:▶ Web solutions. The growing

number of software solutions that are Web-based means retailers can log on with a browser and access store data through laptops, BlackBerries and iPads.

▶ Going “real time.” Remote solu-tions offering so-called real-time data now allow retailers to be proactive,

Off-site management evolves with iPad, cloud and real-time options

By anGEl aBCEDE || aabcede@cspnet.com

[special technology section]

A Remote HistorySeveral signifi cant technology breakthroughs helped retail-ers go from managing their c-stores via phone calls and long drives to a tap of an iPad display. Here are a few of those steps.

1965—First wide-area network (WAN) tested.

1984—Cost-effective T1 lines emerge and broadband becomes more affordable to government agencies and larger businesses.

Compac Computer releases fi rst notebook PC (personal computer).

First digital cell-phone call.

1989 1990

RemoteControl

C S P Apri l 201156

spotting defective receipt printers before a customer fuels up or identi-fying thieving cashiers sooner.

▶ PCI concerns. The need to com-ply with new payment card industry (PCI) standards is throwing a spot-light on data security.

▶ Data manipulation. Predictive solutions can analyze data pulled from numerous sources to help with supply-chain logis-tics, operational issues, mar-keting and merchandising.

Interest in remote access to store data and what it means to operations has been an increasingly popular topic, says Andrew Robinson, director of POS marketing for Greensboro, N.C.-based Gilbarco Veeder-Root. The ability to review numbers, change prices and build reports through remote com-munications may mean a competitive advantage for those who can achieve it at multiple levels within their oper-ations, he says.

“They want technology that will enable them to make more real-time decisions that could impact and drive business,” he says.

EvolutIon of REmotERemotely accessing store automation is not new. It began developing in the late 1990s, when affordable high-

speed broadband became available.The hurdle was integration.

Beyond connectivity via phone lines, retailers required hardware that could interface with networks, other devices and software solutions. Further undermining widespread integration was the absence of technical standards and proprietary struggles between

suppliers. Though standards-building efforts have since emerged, integra-tion remains a challenge.

But the stakes were always high. Remote management as a concept can involve critical parts of store-level operations: headquarters-to-store communications, upgrades to software, sales-movement data, pric-ing updates, store security, shrink and internal theft, equipment moni-toring, cash handling and inventory management.

Rebel Oil’s experience with remote management mirrors many in the industry. About 10 years ago, internal IT staff developed a virtual private network (VPN); through the Inter-net, phone links and compatible devices the company has been able to pull data from stores in a periodic or “batch” mode.

With this system, employ-ees can identify failing card readers, review transaction data and manage the com-pany’s rewards program all remotely. They’ve even built an algorithm that monitors for credit-card fraud.

The system pulls data from the stores into the corporate mainframe, from which Rose, by clicking an icon on his desktop, taps into the server at any individual store. So no matter where he

is, he can log into any of his store’s POS registers, controllers, surveil-lance devices and even slot machines.

The next phase of remote access for Rose is the ability to move from a batch method of data collection to real time, which lets him spot a printer on the fritz before a customer starts the fueling process.

“What we’re hoping for is to go from a ‘pull’ [system] to a ‘push,’ ” he says, describing how he has to look “backwards” to a report of past inci-

Introduction of the World Wide Web.

1995—NACS starts its effort to develop tech-nology standards for the c-store industry.

Household access to broadband com-munications begins.

2001—Use of broadband increases exponentially.

1992—IBM releases its first ThinkPad laptop.

19961993

PREDICtInG Run-outS: Remote access is also driving predictive and analytical solutions, helping out with everything from supply logistics to store-level inventory.

C S P Apri l 2011 57

dences vs. “looking forward” to data from a device as an event is happen-ing. “So instead of waiting for a cashier to find out something is wrong, [the system] will text or e-mail me. … So I don’t need a customer to try the pump and get angry before I can do something.”

PRoaCtIvE to PREDICtIvEThe ability to be proactive may be a “nice to have” capability, but some retailers may question its priority, says Nick Otter, president of Sigma Oil Corp., a La Mesa, Calif.-based technol-ogy solutions company that produces a back-office product called Series2K.

“Some may ask, ‘Why do I need to know that a store sold a pack of cigarettes 10 minutes ago?’ ” he says. “But what happens afterward is key.”

Looking at dated reports means relying on people’s memories, forc-ing them to think back and remem-ber specific incidences. But real time allows for a sense of urgency and the ability to catch an unscrupulous cashier even before he or she has gone home.

Real-time information becomes increasingly important in a high-turnover environment, says Wesley Loh, vice president of retail solu-tions for Altametrics, Costa Mesa, Calif. “It’s the biggest challenge in the c-store space,” he says. “You’ve got clerks and turnover, people who

don’t know what to do when a system goes down. Now we can provide store managers with the information—in a proactive environment—to minimize downtime.”

Rose of Rebel Oil is working with Altametrics to move toward a real-time environment. And as he describes a proactive desire, many in the sup-plier community are actually moving a step further, providing a “predictive” benefit. In that aspect, Rebel Oil’s in-

house system does hint of that capabil-ity, being able to identify overused and potentially fraudulent credit cards.

But the idea’s potential is exten-sive. Drew Mize, vice president of product management and marketing for The Pinnacle Corp., Arlington, Texas, says Pinnacle’s fuel-supply solution does predictive analysis as it remotely takes inventory of a chain’s tank levels. The tools com-municate to dispatchers, tying that information to area fuel suppliers. The system then predicts run-outs based on sales trends and velocities.

“So when a driver is getting fuel

to deliver to sites, he can find out what current inventories [are],” Mize says. “Then he can ask, ‘Can I get all the fuel I need from this [particular terminal]? And if I can’t, what are alternatives?’ ”

These technologies also come in any number of user interfaces, some giving visual ways spot problems. “[New solutions can] provide manag-ers a real-time, map-based application to remotely see inventory and head off supply problems before they happen,” says Scott Cilento, senior vice president of operations, fuel management, for Houston-based FuelQuest.

SECuRIty ISSuESBut just as the potential of remote management grows, so does the con-cern for security. Otter of Sigma Oil says while his company has focused on remote access in its work with London-based BP, it made sure to tackle the issue of data security.

One of the strategies was giving only specific computers access to internal networks. “We don’t want upset managers who get fired to then be able to walk into a cyber café and delete data,” he says.

For many IT managers, even more concern arises when consumer electronics, such as Apple’s popular iPad, filter into the mix. “The iPad and other tablet-based computing [devices] have been a big piece of

2009—Number of cell phones in use hits 600 million.

Introduction of Apple’s iPad; 4.2 million units sell in the second quarter.

Half of all cell-phone users are predicted to have smart phones by the end of the year.

39% of Internet users have broad-band access at home.

20102003 2011

Sources: Federal Communications Commission and the International Telecommunications Union

“For many years, I couldn’t leave the city. Today, I have the speed, power and connectivity to provide remote support.”

C S P Apri l 201158

innovation that has expanded flex-ibility for a lot of our retailers,” says Robinson of Gilbarco. But of course, PCI compliance has placed a sig-nificant emphasis on data security—especially with regard to cardholder information.

For many retailers, introducing new devices such as iPads into their internal networks means new pro-gramming. But open architecture, which allows for a standardized way of communicating with devices, has helped, Robinson says.

In addition, Gilbarco’s current POS design has physically separated the hardware associated with credit- and debit-card transactions, bypass-ing any PCI issues and allowing for a faster development cycle. “Through segregation of sensitive card data, we enable [our customers] to leverage the iPad through virtual network computing,” he says. “They don’t want to put a team of people in cars to go to each and every site.”

REmotE EvERythInGThough not all devices are capable of remote access, it remains the larger vision, especially with the complexi-

ties a c-store operation presents.Speaking on the topic of cash

management and safes, Ed Grondahl, executive vice president of global sales for Tidel Engineering, Carrollton, Texas, says engineers for his com-pany’s products had the foresight to install programming that allows for device integration. “They understood there would be changing peripherals,” Grondahl says. “So when you want to talk to our system and [ask] for information—like how do I get [bank deposit data], and what’s the format it’s in when Tidel sends it to me—you know what the answer is going to look like.”

With devices being able to talk to each other remotely via either a VPN setup or a browser and a Web-hosted solution, tasks such as rationalizing utility costs become a real-time pos-sibility. Robinson of Gilbarco says its Web-based Wisdom product along with a centralized piece of equip-ment on site can tap into the store’s heating, ventilation and air condi-tioning (HVAC) system; lighting; and coolers to control and monitor those devices remotely.

Going even further, Loh of Alta-

metrics and Otter of Sigma Oil say yet another dimension of remote access is to completely outsource computer systems typically housed at corporate to a third-party “cloud” vendor.

The term “cloud” applies to a pro-vider that is equipped with the serv-ers, databases and climate-controlled environment to provide a retailer with all its computing needs off-site, says Loh. The benefits include not having to buy or maintain equipment and the ability to increase or cut capacity with the click of a mouse.

“It’s a subscription-based service where we remove the cost to barri-ers of entry,” Loh says. “So I can say, ‘Hey, I as a c-store chain don’t have to invest hundreds of thousands to do that.’ ”

Rose of Rebel Oil looks forward to working with Loh’s team and can envision the concept of remote access having applications beyond technical support. Communications via cell phones and iPads to mobile customers is a case in point.

“We can move to texting and send-ing coupons and offering discounts,” he says. “When technology gets ubiq-uitous, it opens up an opportunity.” n

Merging ScienceOnce simply a two-way audio alarm response, remote manage-ment has evolved into “real time” accessibility to safes, coolers, tank monitors, money-order machines, cash registers, alarm systems and video cameras, according to Tim Lindblom, vice president of Gulfcoast Software Solutions, Clearwater, Fla.

But Lindblom warns that technology is only part of the equa-tion; real-time access is pivotal. “Purely as an investigative tool, [technology] will not provide immediate results,” he says. “However, combined with real-time alerts, it allows administra-tors to address issues in minutes, providing a strong deterrent to questionable activity.”