Dear RMS users, Partners and web site visitors!
I am so excited to have this web site finally launched. The need for an online community for RMS users and Partenrs is long overdue. Not only we've had this feeling over quite some time, but also in our discussions with other RMS Partners there always have been indications that such an independent online community would greatly benefit everyone.
Though Microsoft somewhat supports RMS users and Partners through Customersource, Partnersource and online newsgroups, the information about third party add-ons and developments for RMS has been "best kept secret" known only to few and yet not in full.
As we all know that lack of information leads to ignorance and ignorance is ulimately the root of all unprofessionalism (whatever one may mean by that), we see lacking of workable communication tools as a severe problem on the way of promoting the "first class" Retail Technology to the consumers.
Over the last few years we have seen shift in the customers' demands towards more customized and sophisticated technology tools, beyond just the standard Point of Sale systems. Microsoft RMS offers extensibility that allows building various add-ins to match specific customer requirements.
However, absence of a formal software certification in this field presented a new challenge: there are thousands various RMS add-ons out there and only small portion of them can qualify to be professionally designed and supported solutions.
In addition, though RMS is more or less sophisticated product on its own, we have seen many new (and, unfortunatley, old) RMS Partners who tend just to push software and hardware and offer lttle if any support to the customers in the areas of the program customization and enhancement to meet specific business requirements.
It is truly hard to underestimate the value of RMS enhancements that implement business rules specific to a retail business. We've seen many situations in which the additional functionaility provided by an add-on or a third party solution drove the sale of RMS; and it seems that as the market is getting more and more saturated, it is the ability of offering high-quality, all-encompassing solution is what separates a winning RMS Partner from a traditional "load-and-leave" RMS dealer.
Well, more thoughts may be said on the subject. I hope our visitors will pick on the subject and share their thoughts. We're just prayerful and hopeful that this new Web site may become such source of information, education and communication that will ultimately lead to excellence in servicing the Retail community with top-quality Technology tools and skills.
With best regards,
Mixer. |