LONDON -- NCR has added Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded to its software offerings, becoming one of the first vendors to offer Windows-based software primarily for lower-end, retail ATMs. Windows XP Embedded will be available within NCR's EasyPoint™ range of products.
This follows the company's earlier announcement that it will offer a platform based on Windows XP Professional platform for its higher-end, full-function ATMs.
Some NCR customers have already migrated from OS/2 to its Windows-based APTRA™ software products, currently based on Windows NT 4.0. According to NCR, the addition of platforms based on Windows XP will complement its existing line of software and allow it to offer more options to deployers.
Windows XP Embedded will provide incentives for retail deployers to move off older or proprietary platforms, enabling them to take advantage of business opportunities such as ticketing, advertising and one-to-one marketing, according to NCR.
"This initiative has opened the choices available to our customers in the convenience banking sector, enabling them to enhance the consumer experience while at the same time controlling costs," said Jim Piggot, vice president of software and services at NCR's Financial Solutions division.
"As devices continue to become more intelligent and reliant on rich applications and services, they must be based on a powerful platform that will allow them to attain the highest levels of functionality and connectivity," said Keith White, senior director of marketing for Microsoft's Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group. "NCR is taking advantage of the enhanced functionality of Windows XP Embedded to deliver a superior computing experience to the self service channel and to provide its customers with increased revenue-generating opportunities."
In an interview with Reuters, White said that Windows XP Embedded, the successor to Windows NT 4.0 Embedded, is a version of the operating system that has been 'componentized' or broken into thousands of pieces that hardware makers can mix and match to suit their needs. XP Embedded consists of some 10,000 components, versus about 300 for NT 4.0 Embedded, meaning the product will be more versatile in meeting the needs of device makers such as NCR.
XP Embedded supports Microsoft's Internet and multi-media technologies such as its Explorer Web browser, Windows Media audio and video formats and DirectX graphics tools.
