Don't you use SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service? It could have made my Day today!

What a start to the day this morning … Believe it or not, I didn’t realize until today that time is one of the most valuable assets we have – and who really likes to waste a valuable asset?

Already frantically busy, I hurried to the doctor early this morning to pick up an urgently needed prescription for my old auntie. Should be only a matter of minutes – I THOUGHT. But what does the receptionist tell me? “Oh I am soooo sorry, but our terminals are frozen and we cannot do anything. Can you just wait or come back later today?” What a bummer.

“Well – chill out –  these things happen”, my inner voice tells me “it’s not her fault”. While forced to wait for the doctor’s systems being up and running again, I decided to do something useful in the meantime. Thus, I went to the bakery to buy some bread. And what does the salesgirl tell me? “Oh I am soooo sorry but my cash register just crashed. Can you just wait or come back later today?” My hair started to stand on end, and I heard myself mumble “What the heck of an operating system are these machines running?”

Back at the doctor’s – DREAM ON – the systems were still down. Not sure how, probably the receptionist was afraid of the maniacal glance in my eyes, but somehow I “forced” her to issue the prescription manually. With “my precious” in hand, I ran to the pharmacy with red-spotted face, but confident the time-wasting-odyssey would be over. I had barely opened the door, when I heard the pharmacist chant “I am sooooo sorry, but my POS devices are down. Can you just wait or come back later today?” You’d better not ask when I finally got my screaming fit under control …

And the moral of this story? While driving home, I asked myself how many people, customers, and clients might have similar experiences each day in groceries, at bank tellers or self-checkout systems. And I wondered how many IT managers of these retail companies are aware that there is a reliable Linux solution available for their Point of Service IT infrastructure.

At the end of last week, SUSE announced the availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service 11 Service Pack 2 . SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service is the only managed client-server Linux solution available in the market today that has been specifically tailored for the unique needs of the retail industry. It provides a reliable, flexible and open platform for point of service / point of sale terminals, kiosks, self- service systems and reverse-vending systems. Built on the SUSE Linux Enterprise platform, it empowers retailers to leverage Linux and open source by delivering a high-performance foundation.

Many of the new features in this latest update help IT administrators enhance overall store operations. It quickly delivers the data and services reliable retail systems need to speed up computing,  which helps the respective organizations to meet the needs and desires of their customers.  And, while it reduces total cost of ownership and improves quality of service, it gives retailers a real competitive advantage and improves customer satisfaction.

Guess what the first thing I did later this morning when I finally got home? I asked a colleague to download SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service 11 Service Pack 2 and burn it 3 times on DVD for those that could have made my day today …

Want to know more about SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service? See:
http://www.suse.com/products/linuxpointofservice