kiosk software
Industry Shift
If, as one might expect, larger
organisations are a mature kiosk market
(see ‘maturity’ in the above diagram)
particularly in developed economies, the
potential growth of that area is limited.
Fortunately for the UK, in particular,
there is an as yet untapped market for
kiosk growth. Small and medium sized
businesses make up 99.9 per cent of the
UK’s private sector. In particular, small
business, sized at 49 employees or less,
comprise 99.3 per cent of all private
sector business in the UK.
The increased accessibility of kiosks
benefits these small and medium-sized
companies the most, allowing them to
gain access to the technology without
paying premium costs. Robust systems
with external devices for payment
processing can be purchased, configured
and deployed for only a fraction of
previous prices, opening the door for
those who need one or two devices to
take advantage of the technology. The fact
that the majority of small and mediumsized businesses now operate their
own websites mean that an application
already exists, and can be easily modified
for public facing deployment on an
interactive kiosk.
40 KIOSK solutions
Emerging Markets
In established economic environments,
the opportunity for growth in the kiosk
market is primarily in this area. There
are also many countries that may have
the technology, but have not seen a
coordinating economic growth. As
a result, those countries are also in
the high growth potential portion of
the chart, rather than the mature or
declining area.
While kiosks in general might be
considered a mature market in certain
economies, (the UK & US for example),
tablet kiosks are a high growth market
in every economy. Enterprise tablet
adoption in general is still in a high
growth phase and predictions show
that the number could reach a billion
worldwide by 2017. Penetration
rates in developing economies will lag
significantly, so tablet kiosks are at
the high growth phase in established
economies and are likely in the
introduction stage for less established
economies.
Evolving Usage
The entry of Mobile Device Management
into the picture also changes the
landscape, with kiosk usage being
broader and expanding into new market
opportunities. One such example is the
Purposed Device. A Purposed Device
is a more mobile kiosk – something
retailers, sales reps, or employees can
carry around, but still use in a specific,
secured manner both with regard to
kiosk software and kiosk hardware
(mobile, transportable enclosures with
card reader attachment and stationary
docking stations). Purposed Devices, like
tablet kiosks, are still nascent with regard
to market penetration.
Conclusion
Like cars and phones, kiosks look very
different from what they were 25 or 35
years ago. With continued iterations to
incorporate new technologies, kiosks
can become even more efficient, cost
effective, mobile and useful. They can
continue to evolve in saturated areas
and expand into high growth markets.
Kiosks have never been as affordable,
scalable and accessible as they are today
and they are most certainly still growing
in market penetration.
www.kioware.com