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ISO/IEC 27001 certification for information security
© 2018 - 2025 GK Software SE, Germany
Because the BSI set further standards, recertification was necessary and this has now been achieved on schedule. This means that the retail trade and other sectors have available a modern and forward-looking cloud solution, which has been certified and can be used in a legally watertight manner.
As the Deutsche Fiskal interface can be connected up very quickly and with very little effort, even companies, which have not yet decided to install Fiskal Cloud, will still be able to make use of a cloud solution within the statutory deadline. Deutsche Fiskal is therefore providing support for this and making available special consulting packages to enable firms to make a rapid switch.
Fiskal Cloud has been in use in standard operations for almost three months now and several hundred customers, including some of Germany’s largest retailers, have already linked up to the system. As a result, several million transactions are signed every day. This figure will continue to increase significantly when all the customer systems are connected by 31 March.
Thanks to the modern cloud solution provided by Deutsche Fiskal, retailers and other companies affected by the German Cash Register Anti-Tampering Order can prevent a situation where each individual till device has to be equipped with special, additional hardware. At the same time, any changes to the statutory standards can be introduced centrally in the cloud. Numerous large retailers and operators with large numbers of installations in other sectors have focused on a cloud solution from the outset, as they wished to avoid hardware-based solutions involving huge amounts of time and effort and differing certification periods. As a result, many large store-based companies, including almost all the customers working with the parent company, GK Software, and AWEK, have opted to use Deutsche Fiskal.
Deutsche Fiskal also offers a hybrid variant, Fiskal Cloud offline, which enables mixed operations between systems connected to Fiskal Cloud online and those that are mainly operated offline. This means that even special situations, which do not have a permanent online connection, can be handled too. Deutsche Fiskal also provides a solution for storing data in a legally compliant manner – Fiskal Cloud Archiv.
Deutsche Fiskal was founded as a fully-owned subsidiary of GK Software SE in March 2019 and it focuses exclusively on the topic of fiscalisation. The company, which has its headquarters in Berlin, has developed a cloud solution for handling fiscalisation in Germany in conjunction with D-Trust, a Bundesdruckerei company. This solution is now available to all providers of recording systems and can be connected up in a very flexible manner via open interfaces. Deutsche Fiskal also provides a hybrid solution so that companies can also benefit from the advantages of a central application in environments that do not have any permanent cloud connections. Deutsche Fiskal also offers a legally compliant and fully integrated archive solution, Cloud Archiv, so that Fiskal cloud data can be transferred to a long-term archiving facility.
The new customers include a French company for the first time and it is one of the world's 50 largest retailers. In addition, two other retailers opted to introduce full cloud services and will make use of cloud4retail as software-as-a-service (SaaS). The new customers for the Company's core solutions come from countries like Chile, Canada and, for the first time, New Zealand and operate in the food retail, consumer electronics and DIY sectors.
As a result, GK Software was able to gain ten new customers overall on four continents for its core solutions during the 2020 financial year, despite the restrictions placed on sales opportunities. Three more existing customers also decided to switch their operations to OmniPOS during the past year. Deutsche Fiskal was also very successful in attracting new customers for its fiscalisation services.
Overall, the Company was able to sign agreements for cloud services with a minimum order volume of EUR 48 million; in most cases, they will have a term of between three and ten years in the form of SaaS services. Despite the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 crisis, turnover amounting to approx. EUR 7 million was generated in the classic licence business too.
In the light of the results during the fourth quarter, the Management Board expects the Company to meet its forecast for the full year; it believes that this will be accompanied by a slight increase in turnover with a significant improvement in profitability.
A new POS implementation is one of the most expensive IT investments a retailer can make. It requires executive approval and must be done seamlessly so no business is lost in the transfer process. As a result of a retailer’s reluctance, they are often stuck with a POS system that can’t quickly adapt to their needs, ultimately standing as an inflexible and rigid barrier to ensuring customer satisfaction.
So, what if a POS could operate more like a smartphone, allowing retailers to easily add new third-party capabilities and tools as their needs evolve? That’s the concept behind our Omnibasket Developers Portal and Innovator Partners Program.
The platform serves as a sandbox where developers can use the platform’s web services through APIs. Now third-party solution providers can easily integrate their applications, giving retailers unprecedented flexibility by enabling them to choose from a growing number of solutions that complement GK.
For example, developers can utilize basket capabilities, promotions, transaction handling, and more, even in nontraditional touchpoints such as cars, IoT devices and various mobile apps.
It’s now essential to create platforms that have flexible technology, whether by updating basket capability, improving promotions or transaction handling, and managing POS updates. And a cloud-based platform is a critical foundation to ensure that the retailer can continuously adapt to meet their shoppers’ needs. Omnibasket can lower the hurdles for developers looking to successfully make the leap and integrate new features and updates.
Learn more and register for Omnibasket here.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a shift away from restaurants as indoor dining options halted. It also put a temporary pause on self-service food offerings in the store. This was an unexpected benefit for convenience stores, as consumers wanting fast to-go options preferred pizza, burgers and sandwiches, which are core c-store offerings.
Furthermore, grocery stores and quick service restaurants are evolving to mimic the format of convenience stores. In response, the convenience vertical has increased their food offerings, including fresh options, to rival grocery competitors and maintain a unique advantage. As of 2019, food service – including prepared items – accounted for 22.6% of sales, and 36.4% of profits at convenience stores in the U.S., according to NACS.
With these numbers, food is bringing a whole new opportunity for growth within the convenience category. This then brings up the question - in the time it takes for a consumer to fill a car’s tank, can they also be in and out of a store with hot food in hand?
Because of the pandemic, convenience stores saw an accelerated use of mobile order and mobile pay features as consumers looked for safe payment methods that also eliminated the time they spent in physical stores when picking up food and other items. A fully integrated Mobile POS can implement smartphone-driven benefits across the business, including:
Many consumers are no longer stopping at a convenience store just for fuel. It’s time for retailers to think beyond the forecourt. Self-service and mobile technologies are now the drivers of growth within convenience stores. While foodservice is surging, retailers must take advantage of consumer demand – offering services that match their expectations. Are you ready to deliver them?
COVID-19 has changed much of consumer behavior and expectations when it comes to payment options both in store and online, and many of these changes are expected to stick moving forward. As we begin a new year, we predict the four payment trends that will become even more prominent in 2021, and what retailers must do to prepare.
Looking ahead, BOPIS will likely continue to grow even after the pandemic. In response, retailers will need to ensure that they properly implement this capability not as a temporary solution, but as a permanent long-term fixture. The new look of BOPIS is much “lighter,” and allows for the technology to be deployed instantly, without the need to integrate with existing systems. A flexible, standalone BOPIS solution also provides the option for retailers to address integrations later on, as they have the need or desire to do so.
Mobile ordering, scan-and-pay and cashierless cameras are emerging frictionless technology options that retailers can leverage to eliminate consumer pain points and wait times. In 2021, retailers will also look into implementing connected car capabilities for in-car purchases, giving on-the-go consumers who are making normal or recurring purchases another option to quickly browse and order the items they need. These frictionless payment options will play out in 2021 as retailers look for ways to deliver the speed, ease and convenience that today’s shoppers demand.
The pandemic has ushered in a new use of QR codes as they are a go-to for contactless interaction. QR codes are a critical integration for any retailer looking to establish seamless, contactless experiences for shoppers, while also remaining in control of the customer interaction. Providing QR codes and other forms of digital payments is a key factor for in-store and curbside success. Multiple contactless payment options and creatively enhancing QR codes’ functionality is a win-win for both customers and retailers in the current and post-pandemic era.
The EMV deadline is approaching in April 2021, which means fuel retailers will need to achieve the new EMV standards if they haven’t already. While they’re evaluating existing processes, we’ll see innovative winners go beyond EMV compliance by integrating fuel payments with in-store systems. That way, stores can create one cohesive, seamless journey for the customer that drives a positive interaction and encourages loyalty – presenting a great opportunity to future-proof their payments.
Headless commerce has been a major topic of conversation for several years, especially as it pertains to how retailers can achieve flexibility as they interact with customers via an ecommerce site.
This year, the prominence of ecommerce has skyrocketed because of COVID-19, a reality that has not been more apparent than on Black Friday. Online spending hit a new record,surging 21.6% according to Adobe Analytics, whereas in-store shopping fell 52.1% from last year, according to Sensormatic Solutions.
As the popularity of ecommerce rises, retailers have learned that having control over a shopper's experience, from the first click to the point of purchase, is critical to success.
Headless commerce provides retailers flexibility to master this online experience. Defined as the separation of the front end and back end of an ecommerce application, its architecture provides retailers the ability and flexibility to create and fully manage their own graphical user interface (GUI) for every customer touchpoint. (You can learn more about this in our earlier blog on headless commerce.)
Now, as the growth of omnichannel capabilities has given way to shopper journeys beginning and ending across multiple touchpoints, headless commerce has proved necessary within the physical store as well.
This rise is particularly timely. Through COVID-19, Gartner has found that the importance of digital acceleration has increased in importance. Its recent survey found that 87% of corporate directors deemed technology as having a transformational role in addressing strategic business priorities because:
Let's explore all the benefits headless commerce can provide retailers as they implement this in-store digital transformation.
Headless commerce systems are API-driven, which means they are built to integrate and communicate with other platforms, from ERPs to CRMs. This inherent characteristic means they are unified, because data is transferred quickly and easily between platforms via API. It also ensures easy updates as each system that is connected is updated independently.
In addition, it allows retailers to consolidate technologies. Instead of building one platform from scratch that incorporates a variety of back-end technologies, headless commerce relies on connecting disparate technologies into one platform. This means that a retailer can build a solution that incorporates marketing tech, content management and resource planning, technologies that are not often combined in one platform. With one solution as a source of truth for all activities, headless commerce ensures retailers can be more agile and save on IT costs.
Our cloud4retail platform has benefited first-hand from an API-driven approach. Recently, we launched Omnibasket.com, a developer portal allowing innovators to access resources to help them integrate their own solutions with cloud4retail.
Shopper behavior is constantly changing and almost impossible to predict. For example, contactless payment was a growing trend early this year, but it has skyrocketed during the pandemic as consumers are wary of physical touch. But just because behavior is hard to predict does not mean that retailers can react slowly. In today's environment, it is essential for retailers to quickly update their technology to accommodate evolving needs.
Because a headless commerce system's front-end and back-end are not tightly integrated, or "coupled," a retailer does not have to roll out an update to the entire system, only part of it. Development teams can work in parallel, making changes to the UI or one part of the back-end at the same time. This ensures retailers can deliver on consumer needs quickly while focusing on building the right platform for today's market.
Increased speed to innovation has never been more important. A recent McKinsey survey found that through COVID-19, executives said their companies have made extensive changes with one overriding goal: to increase the speed at which they adjust strategic direction, make and implement tactical decisions and deploy resources. Those who have gained speed outperform competitors by a wide margin on a range of outcomes including organizational health, profitability, growth and operational resilience. What helped them increase speed? Making greater use of technology.
The fact that a headless commerce platform is decoupled means retailers are able to leverage data more readily and with more speed. A unified platform that combines marketing insight, customer data and sales insights is quickly able to power personalized engagement.
Retailers can go beyond a typical, "people who bought this product also bought this product" recommendation to develop recommendations based on deep customer insights. Once a personalized engagement is crafted, headless commerce empowers retailers to deliver messaging across digital platforms in store, whether via mobile app or point of sale technology.
Our Mobile Customer Assistant (MCA) is a great example of this type of technology in use. MCA allows retailers to inform customers of new promotions, loyalty actions or coupons via their smartphone. Combining a variety of technologies, MCA includes QR code, store finder, push notifications vi beacons and intelligent shopping list functionality.
For retailers looking to create an agile, personalized and, most of all, unified customer experience, leveraging headless commerce technologies to power in-store experiences is a perfect fit. Retail customers benefit from the personalized digital experience they desire, while retailers maximize and optimize customer interactions, technology speed-to-market and ongoing operational costs.
If you're interested in learning more about these technologies or how our solutions can help you become more agile, we'd love to connect. Contact us today to learn more.
RBR found that GK Software rolled out more new POS installations in its target retail market (excluding gas stations and hospitality) during this period than any other vendor. The study, which was published October 2020, evaluated the number of new POS installations at retailers with more than 1,000 systems from June 2019 to June 2020.
The report analyzes the global point-of-sale installation base of more than 75 vendors in six regions annually. In addition to the top position in new retail installations, GK Software is ranked sixth in the area of total worldwide POS installations (including gas stations and hospitality).
Across Europe, GK Software was responsible for more new installations than any other competitor with a total share of 20 percent. The company is also the clear market leader in Central and Eastern Europe, and ranked second across Europe in regards to total installations.
As part of its global expansion strategy, GK Software also installed the market-leading POS solution (The Forrester Wave™: Point Of Service, Q3 2018) in new regions and continued rollouts for major customers with branches in the USA, Mexico, Columbia, India, and the Asia-Pacific region.
RBR is a strategic research and consulting firm with three decades of experience in banking and retail automation, cards, and payments. RBR supports its customers with independent advice and information through reports, consulting, newsletters, and events.
Imagine any point in a customers’ journey with a retailer: the shopping basket should be present through every step. The reality is, this is often difficult to achieve, especially because needs are often developing more rapidly as developers have time to build solutions.
We’re looking to change that. Omnibasket is a portal that allows developers to access resources at any time, helping them integrate with our cloud4retail platform, which supports unified commerce in the cloud. From there, they can connect cloud4retail's business logic services to their own solutions, or extend GK in-store touchpoints within their apps.
The new portal is part of our Innovator Partners Program, which helps partners achieve success with new technology implementations while ensuring a swift transition and quick time integration. What’s more, we hope Omnibasket will advance the developer community, as the portal allows them to discuss initiatives in the community forum and even receive support from our experts.
Within the Omnibasket portal, developers are able to download and install a fully functional point-of-sale system, both mobile and stationary. We often discuss the importance of frictionless options, and non-traditional touchpoints — such as mobile apps, IoT devices and even connected cars — continue to grow in popularity. To meet the expectations of the modern consumer, a retailer must have access to flexible technology when updating basket capabilities, promotions and transaction handling.
What’s more, developers can also use simple JavaScript to plug-in web apps, including clienteling, time and attendance, as well as rich item content to the point of sale, mobile point of sale or a kiosk. For example, augmented reality is a helpful tool for shoppers to virtually test out products, which is especially important as health and safety is top of mind during COVID-19.
Abacus Lottery Everywhere, a U.K.-based solution provider, connects consumers, retailers, vendors and lotteries to ensure lottery can be played as seamlessly as possible. The company is an early adopter of the new portal, and has found it to provide an innovative opportunity, as retailers can sell lottery games through their existing point-of-sale platforms, without having to install dedicated lottery terminals.
Simon Butler, CEO, said, "The GK Software Omnibasket developer portal and Innovators program are a revolutionary approach…offering retailers significant benefits with very little effort and time to market integrating into their existing platform. This integrated approach could enable every retail touchpoint to sell lottery, helping to increase the retailer basket size and offering greater consumer convenience."
Unified commerce is already the industry standard. Retailers must look to continuous adaptation and innovation to serve shoppers at multiple touchpoints and through multiple tactics, such as promotional messaging and checkout. A cloud-based platform is an essential foundation to ensure there’s one shopping basket at all touchpoints.
Developers can learn more and register for Omnibasket here.
The cloud has made it possible for retailers to offer new services and conveniences in their stores that were previously impossible. For example, the ability to centralize customer data from across channels and devices, as well as process that information quickly, allows retailers to reach individual shoppers with personalized messages.
A recent study found that cloud spend continues to grow, and more than half say usage will be higher than initially planned as a result of COVID-19. Cloud computing is essential for data analysis at a large scale, through which retailers can pull insights, trends and solutions to improve processes. A centralized repository for data across stores ensures anyone can access it whenever they need it, from anywhere.
Recognizing this essential need, we’ve invested in further developing our cloud solutions to meet the demands of modern retailers and consumers. As a result of our continued innovation, we’re working with prestigious partners and have seen additional customers choose us as their unified cloud platform provider.
Our cloud4retail platform has seen continued growth from our German headquarters. One of the top do-it-yourself retailers in Germany, which has branches in several European countries, chose the solution because of its ease of use, adaptability and opportunity for continued innovation. Once the rollout is complete, the retailer will operate more than 2,000 installations across the globe.
As well, another long-standing retail customer has chosen to migrate to OmniPOS in the cloud. These initiatives will allow both retailers to better serve their customers, regardless of the channels in which they shop. As we enter 2021, we expect to see even more adoption of cloud-based solutions, and we’re eager to see the success our customers can achieve with these new initiatives.
For more than ten years, SAP has been selling GK Software's solutions as SAP Solution Extensions to a global customer base. Now, our products are available for SAP's industry cloud. This partnership delivers innovative, vertical solutions that helps customers achieve cost-effective transformation and sustainable growth, provides new opportunities for better business processes, and a competitive advantage.
"The SAP Omnichannel Point-of-Sale by GK application, developed by GK Software, fills critical whitespace in our portfolio and enables a true omnichannel experience for our customers," said Achim Schneider, SVP and global head, Industry Business Unit Retail for SAP. "This is a prime example of how co-innovation between our organizations can deliver value for customers. We look forward to continued collaboration with GK Software and the creation of innovative cloud solutions and applications for customers who want to drive cost-effective and sustainable growth in their industry."
The cloud4retail platform is also optimized for use with Microsoft Azure, and uses its diverse storage, server and scaling capabilities, which offer significant advantages over conventional on-premises installations. With cloud4retail on Azure, retailers now have another option of various deployment models, and can easily scale up operations as required.
"Product integration with GK Software is exactly the kind of technological solution that ensures that store salespeople, managers and HQ teams are in the best position to be successful with every interaction," said Sahir Anand, Principal & Global Retail Industry Lead, Microsoft Azure at Microsoft.
These latest announcements illustrate how cloud4retail is a flexible, open commerce platform providing services for integrated unified commerce environments. Would your business be empowered by a seamless omnichannel process? From mobile customer loyalty to mobile store merchandise management and so much more, our modern, quickly expandable cloud platform is ready to do it all.
New Developers Portal and Innovator Partners Program are now publicly available for innovation partners to integrate into GK ́s cloud4retail
What if a POS could operate more like a smartphone, allowing retailers to easily add new third-party capabilities and tools as their needs evolve? That’s the concept behind GK Software’s new Omnibasket Developers Portal and Innovator Partners Program, announced today. Now third-party solution providers can easily integrate their applications with GK’s cloud4retail commerce platform, used by leading retailers worldwide.
With the Omnibasket Developers Portal, GK’s platform now becomes the hub of a growing ecosystem made up of applications that can extend GK’s core cloud4retail capabilities. This gives retailers unprecedented flexibility by enabling them to choose from a growing number of solutions that complement GK.
Third-party developers can use the platform’s web services through APIs to utilize basket capabilities, promotions, transaction handling, and more, even in nontraditional touchpoints such as cars, IoT devices and various mobile apps. Developers can also use simple JavaScript to plug-in web apps such as clienteling, time and attendance, and rich item content (e.g. an augmented reality "try me on" cosmetics app) to the POS, assistants' mobile POS, or a kiosk.
The portal provides documentation and other developer resources, with simple registration access to a sandbox environment. These are publicly available and can be found at www.omnibasket.com. In addition to Omnibasket, GK also introduced an Innovator Partners Program, which allows a swift transition from discovery to commercial availability, helping partners to control their own success and all parties to benefit from the outcomes.
“The GK Software Omnibasket developer portal and Innovators program are a revolutionary approach,” said Simon Butler, CEO of Abacus Lottery Everywhere, an early adopter of the new portal and program. Abacus is the gateway of choice to connect consumers, retailers and lotteries in the global market. “This could help enable solution providers to offer retailers significant benefits with very little effort and time to market, integrating into their existing platform.”
“This is an exciting and innovative opportunity for us, allowing retailers to sell lottery games through their existing POS platforms without having to install dedicated lottery terminals,” he continued. “This integrated approach could enable every retail touchpoint to sell lottery, helping increase the retailer basket size and offer greater consumer convenience."
The Retail Innovators