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Software developer KAL contends that Windows CE, an OS most commonly used for PDAs and other handheld devices, can give retail ATM deployers more flexibility and functionality at little added cost. Another option is Windows XP Embedded, which Microsoft rolled out last week. NCR has committed to offering XP Embedded in its EasyPoint line of ATMs.
January 7, 2002
While several ATM manufacturers are outfitting their machines with Microsoft's newest operating systems, at least one software developer believes that using the latest versions of Windows in many cases amounts to overkill.
"(Windows XP) has lots and lots of stuff for gamers," said Steve Hensley, vice president of sales and marketing for KAL. "but it's full of features that most ATM deployers will never want or use."
The cost of running an operating system (OS) rises along with the number of new features, Hensley added. To run XP, for example, requires a Pentium-level processor and at least 128 megabytes of memory.
Only the newest, most advanced – and priciest – ATMs have those kinds of capabilities. Some retail ATMs have as little as two megabytes of memory and can run only simple proprietary software applications.
Simplify, simplify
After looking at several options, Hensley said that KAL's developers decided that a leaner OS was the best way to add functionality and open standards to low-end ATMs without inflating the cost. KAL created Kalignite CE, a development platform that runs on top of Windows CE, an OS most commonly used to create applications for PDAs and other handheld devices.
"We decided that Windows CE gave us everything we need to develop low-end self-service systems," Hensley said. "It is very stable, it runs on many different types of hardware platforms, it provides a familiar development environment to the Windows community and, of course, it has very low licensing requirements."
Noting that the majority of ATMs that shipped in 2000 were low-end cash dispensers, Hensley said that KAL's developers are convinced that CE and not the more robust Windows-based systems is the most appropriate OS for today's market.
"The trend is not toward bigger boxes but in getting as much functionality as you can for a lower cost," he said.
According to Hensley, building machines based on Windows CE will allow manufacturers to offer a more flexible and feature-rich platform than today's low-end proprietary systems – at about the same cost.
KAL is promoting Kalignite CE for ATMs with at least 16 megabytes, and preferably 32 megabytes, of memory. Though this is certainly much lower than the memory requirements for Windows XP, many of today's retail ATMs have just two to four megabytes of memory.
Aravinda Korala, chief executive officer of Edinburgh, Scotland-based KAL, said that his company delivered beta versions of Kalignite CE to several of its OEM partners in September.
"Our business model at KAL is to work with all of the major ATM hardware manufacturers," he said. "We are continuing that policy with Kalignite CE, and we are now making it available to all interested self-service OEMs and systems integrators."
Drivers, he said
While using Windows CE would certainly lower licensing costs, the savings could vanish if ATM manufacturers have to write new device drivers for their machines, said Mike Bengtson, vice president of Mosaic Software's self-service product strategy.
"My understanding is that Windows CE has a different device driver architecture and therefore would require new device drivers to be written. If true, this would mean that ATM manufacturers would effectively have double the work to do in order to support card readers, encryptors, cash dispensers and the like," Bengtson said. "Writing a device driver would entail intimate knowledge of the device in question and probably involves the use of proprietary information that a vendor might not be willing to give up, so essentially the vendor would have to decide to do the work themselves."
He added, "If true, the development and support costs for a duplicate set of device drivers could in some cases outweigh the cost savings in the OS licensing - especially if XP Home Edition or a similar Windows 32 operating system could be used instead."
Hensley said that device driver compatibility would be an issue only for manufacturers who build their own custom CPU or motherboards.
The manufacturers who use industry-standard components just need drivers for the disk, serial port and such, and these are readily available," Hensley said. "The self-service devices such as card readers and PIN pads are all driven through the serial port, so no special driver is required – other than Kalignite CE, which we will provide."
Also, Hensley added,since Kalignite CE supports the financial industry's XFS standard, there is a great deal of knowledge in the development community regarding device support.
My generations
The other primary market for Kalignite CE, Hensley said, is owners of previous generations of ATMs who want fuller functionality and more flexibility without the need for a costly hardware upgrade.
Jerry Silva, senior analyst of customer interactions for the Needham, Mass.-based consultancy the Tower Group, agreed that KAL's CE product will "give smaller vendors a way to deliver higher functionality, albeit not a full-blown functionality, on a smaller, cheaper box."
But Silva doesn't believe that CE will be adopted by owners of legacy machines. "Arguably, you can't run CE on Diebold's proprietary software. So while you might be able to get away with a smaller upgrade, you'd still have to upgrade from the older stuff."
The use of CE could create many opportunities in the ATM/kiosk space, said Craig Keefner, editor of kiosks.org. "We know that CE is being pushed extremely hard by Microsoft in the embedded appliance markets such as automobile electronics. Maybe this is the application they have been looking for," he said.
KAL will demonstrate Kalignite CE at next week's BAIRetail Delivery Show Dec. 11-14 in Anaheim, Calif. at booth number 1223.
Breaking it up
Microsoft just rolled out a version of XP, called Windows XP Embedded, that it says is appropriate for ATMs, cash registers, gasoline pumps and slot machines. The OS has been "componentized," or broken into thousands of pieces that hardware manufacturers can mix and match to suit their needs, according to Microsoft.
Developed alongside the desktop version of XP, Windows XP Embedded shares the same core but supports more add-ons than Microsoft's earlier embedded operating systems. It also supports the latest version of Internet Explorer and other applications.
"What we're seeing is just huge growth in the variety of non-PC-like devices. These devices are requiring a lot more smarts," said Keith White, senior director of Microsoft's Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group, in an interview with the Reuters news service. "Now you're seeing a movement toward a commercial operating system because these (hardware makers) don't want to be in the operating system business anymore."
Rather than charging a license fee based upon the type of device using the OS, as has been done in the past, Microsoft will charge $70 for a single Windows XP Embedded license, with volume discounts. To woo developers, Microsoft reduced the price of the development toolkit for Windows XP Embedded from $2,900 to $995 – although the discount will be offered only for the first 90 days following the system's Nov. 28 release.
ATM manufacturer NCR was one of the first companies to commit to using Windows XP Embedded. NCR will use Windows XP Embedded in its EasyPoint line of retail ATMs.
NCR, which was one of the earliest ATM manufacturers to adopt Windows NT 4.0 in 1997, believes the experience gained from Windows NT means it is a natural step to move to Windows XP. Like Microsoft, NCR touts XP is the most stable OS Microsoft has ever released. Because XP was developed as a superset of Windows 2000, all of the bug fixes and service packs for 2000 are included in XP, according to NCR.
KAL's Hensley said "there is clearly space for both" Windows XP Embedded and Windows CE. "It's a numbers game," he said. "You cannot skinny down as much with XP as you can with CE. With CE, you can get by with far less in terms of processing and memory requirements."
Decisions, decisions
"There are inherently some areas of overlap in which a developer could use either Windows XP Embedded or Windows CE," said Kelly Meagher, product manager for Microsoft's Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group. "Ultimately, the design requirements of the device will determine the best platform to choose."
Meagher said that customer feedback has shown that there are five important areas of differentiation when choosing between Windows CE and Windows XP Embedded:
- CPU architecture: If the device is not x86-based, then a developer will use Windows CE .NET
- Win32 API: If the device design takes advantage of existing Win32-based applications or it will make use of existing Win32-based applications and drivers without modification, use Windows XP Embedded. Applications and drivers must be modified to run on Windows CE .NET.
- Footprint: If it is vital for a device to have a small footprint size, Windows CE .NET may be a better choice
- Real Time: Windows CE .NET is inherently real time while Windows XP Embedded requires third-party extensions like the new RTX 5.1 software from VenturCom and the new INTime software from TenAsys.
- Networking and Communications: A developer should ask himself if the device will need server support. Both Windows CE .NET and Windows XP Embedded provide support for extensive networking and communications technologies, such as TCP/IP, COM, DCOM and 802.11. However, Windows XP Embedded supports a wider range of networked hardware devices, such as IPv6, IrDA and UPnP.
Included In This Story
KAL ATM Software
KAL is a world-leading provider of multivendor ATM platform, application and management software, specializing in solutions for bank ATMs, self-service kiosks, and bank branch networks.
