Mumbai: IBM India, the leader in reliable, retail-hardened point-of-sale (POS) systems, on July 2 announced the expansion of its family of POS systems with the new IBM SurePOS 300 Series, as well as new models of the IBM SureOne, IBM SurePOS 600 Series and IBM SurePOS 500 Series.

This announcement comes at a time when the retail business in India is facing significant business and competitive challenges, ranging from a slow economy to consumers who are demanding more choices, convenience and personalised service in their shopping experience.

The IBM's latest POS systems will give retailers in all segments extensive choices of affordable, advanced, Internet-enabled IBM technology solutions, supports various operating systems including Linux to improve their business operations and enhance customer service.

Retailers have unique business requirements; a high-fashion specialty apparel retailer may need a powerful yet elegantly designed POS system, a category killer may need a custom-configured thin-client system, a food service retailer needs reliability and an ultra-bright display, or a small retailer who needs an affordable all-in-one POS system.

"What was once just a cash register has become a sophisticated, powerful Internet- enabled point-of-service system, which allows retailers to run their businesses more effectively and efficiently, know and serve their customers better and link to other sophisticated e-business technologies to enable true integrated multi-channel retailing," said Shashi B Mal, country manager, Personal Computing Division, IBM India Limited. "Today, retailers want the reliability, retail hardening, expertise and support at different price points, which is a hallmark of IBM POS systems. The last thing that they want is to resort to pieces and parts of systems not designed for the rigors of retail."

Reflecting, IBM's commitment to open standards all of the new POS systems allow retailers to run the POS software they may already have or choose from a wide range of software - including StoreProven POS applications from IBM's wide network of Business Partners. These systems support various operating system platforms including Linux to meet the requirements of retailers. For example, IBM continues to support the mature Microsoft Windows platforms while fully embracing the support of Windows XP Professional and the new XP Embedded solution.

All of the new POS systems are built with IBM's proven technology to withstand the harsh demands of the retail environment and are designed and tested to the same rigorous worldwide specifications. These demands can include fluctuations in temperature, humidity, dust and dirt levels, spills, and vibrations and electrostatic shock; all of which can increase the risk of downtime and additional maintenance. Each POS system also features the plug-and-play convenience of Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity, the standard in PC-based technology.

IBM's new POS systems being announced today include:

New IBM Surepos 300 Family Series:

The new IBM SurePOS 300 is a smart, affordable POS system that offers quality, power and flexibility for today's small and medium businesses, including specialty retailers, as well as a new, flexible option for large category killer retailers.

IBM Sureone Pos System: The IBM SureOne, a very popular choice worldwide since 1996 for small and medium retailers who need an entry-level, integrated, all-in-one POS solution, has now been enhanced with faster processing power, increased hard drive capacity and a new LCD display option. IBM India has also announced two variants of "Additional Warranty Support Packs" for this type of system for 1 year and a 2 year additional Warranty.

IBM Surepos 600 Series: IBM's SurePOS 600 Series is designed specifically for specialty retailers, who require a reliable, affordable, powerful and elegantly designed system that also includes the most advanced technology and Internet and multimedia capabilities. To further assist specialty retailers in this fast-growing and demanding retail segment, IBM is now adding three new SurePOS 600 models.

IBM Surepos 500 Series: IBM is introducing four new models of the SurePOS 500 Series, an award-winning point of sale solution that brings exceptional reliability, retail hardening, advanced technologies and a sleek, attractive design to the food service, hospitality and gas and convenience store industries. This again comes with "Support Packs" of a 1 year and 2 year additional warranty. These industries are among the most demanding environments for computers due to surrounding heat, spills, smoke, crumbs and bright sunlight.

About IBM

IBM, the world's largest information technology company, provides the retail industry with a full range of e-business solutions, including: point-of-sale systems, other hardware and software technology, consulting focused on business transformation, IT strategy and planning, store operations improvement, and supply chain optimisation, and with services, such as outsourcing, managed operations, systems integration, and application development and design. IBM is the premier worldwide supplier of POS systems, with nearly 1.5 million shipped to more than 1,00,000 stores in 100 countries.

For more information on IBM Retail Solutions, please visit www.ibm.com/solutions/retail and for more information on IBM Point-of-Sale Solutions, visit www.ibm.com/solutions/retail/store