Why it’s important to ensure your hardware can keep up with technology advances in the hospitality industry
For some reason, POS servers seem to be some of the most underpowered machines on the planet, considering that they are the primary or secondary controller of daily cash flow in a business. With the growing popularity of QR-code-based ordering systems applying more load on the server, this can make one of the most essential services of many businesses one of the least reliable due to outdated hardware.
Recently one of our clients began to notice that their back-office POS software was running significantly slower than normal. After performing checks with their POS company, we determined it was the age of the server that was limiting performance and reliability. Luckily because the staff had reported the issue to us early, we quickly got the new server quoted, ordered and installed before the busy holiday period.
When installing a new server, it is a great time to tidy the rack where it is getting installed. Labelling ports, redoing cable runs and relocating smaller items to rack shelves to make way for the new server. After installation and tidy up, we handed the job to their POS company so they could download their software, transfer the database and get it ready to go live. The swap over to the new server can then be carried out outside of office hours remotely since all the hardware is installed and ready to go.
In the right conditions, there is an opportunity to convert your POS server to a cloud based server and database. Before replacing the server, we ran through a series of considerations, such as internet stability, speed and failover abilities, cost and site redundancy requirements. We have migrated several POS servers to the cloud with great results.
So, next time you glance upon your POS server, give it some appreciation for the job that it does. Think about what would happen if it went down and consider if it is maybe time to recycle that old POS server into a Tesla.
Zak installing a POS server at Blue Fin Fishing Club
Keelan onsite at Blue Fin Fishing Club
