Why kiosk software development was essential
At Advanced Kiosks we have over 15 years developing high quality interactive kiosks and kiosk software design. Through those years we have learned that no matter how good the hardware is, it is nothing without kiosk software for support, integration and kiosk management. Custom kiosk software can be an extremely expensive and time consuming proposition, and all too often it would become cost prohibitive for our potential clients.
In order to better serve our clients, we had to find another way. So we developed Zamok Kiosk Software.
What customers need most from kiosk software
The key benefits of kiosk management software include:
- SECURITY: Lockdown the kiosk to prevent tampering and only allow access to web content or material that is approved by the administrator
- INTERFACE: A kiosk interface that can be customized to offer the user access to multiple destinations, sites or systems
- FUNCTIONALITY: The means to support and interact with peripherals to deliver user services like printing, scanning and more
- MANAGEMENT: Built in administrative tools to update, manage and monitor the kiosk usage remotely
- NOTIFICATIONS: Email or text alerts and notifications for issues or events which make the kiosk go offline
- INTEGRATION: Seamless integration with the major software providers for each industry
Zamok: Cloud based kiosk software
It quickly became evident that offering a web based solution could satisfy the needs of the vast majority of our clients (while incurring little to no additional expense) and that is how Zamok Kiosk Software was born. Zamok behaves like a completely functional, full screen web browser, without navigation tools that you are accustomed to seeing with web browsers like IE, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. The destination displayed to the user is made accessible and defined by the administrator, and the software does the rest. Setting up a kiosk is as simple as connecting it to the internet, and pointing it at your content.
Zamok: Prevents random browsing or computer tampering
Quite often, when our clients hear the words “web browser” they immediately become concerned that someone will simply go browsing the internet, check their Facebook, or somehow leave the kiosk on a page that isn’t exactly “family friendly”. If you speak with one of our friendly kiosk project consultants, you will likely get a quick “Interactive Kiosk 101” rundown. This rundown explains that in the simplest terms, an interactive touchscreen kiosk is at it’s core a Windows 10 Professional computer with a touchscreen, in a secure enclosure. The key is to make the lockdown kiosk software as secure as the steel enclosure the computer is housed in. Once set up, Zamok runs full screen, with no access to the desktop, to the settings, or to an address bar. This is what we call lockdown kiosk software. It requires a username and password to exit the program, or to access any of its settings. As an additional layer of security, we developed another application called uncrashable that constantly monitors the system status, and in the event of the computer becoming unstable or crashing for any reason, it immediately ends and restarts the application, while denying access to the desktop and to any settings.
Zamok: Functionality keeps growing to meet customer needs
Over the last 8 of our 15+ years, we have grown from a hardware manufacturer into a complete solutions provider, and we have realized that our most valuable asset is our customers, and their feedback. During these past 8 years our software has been installed on thousands of kiosks for nearly every application you can imagine, and some I’m sure you never would have thought of in your wildest dreams. We have used the feedback from thousands of customers to constantly add to, and develop, numerous solutions and modules to increase the functionality of our software, and in turn our kiosks. Over time we have added the optional functionality of printers, document scanners, credit card readers, driver’s license scanners, barcode readers, biometrics, VOIP, cloud management and much more.
Zamok: Some features, tools and utilities
Energy Saving – Some of the more innovative programs we have written have been fueled by necessity, and the desire to do what we can for the environment, like our GreenTimer utility. Anyone who has ever made the mistake of leaving a Windows based computer on for weeks at a time without restarting it can attest to the fact that the system becomes unstable, and unresponsive over time. This happens because of things called “cache files” building up in memory over time, until there is not enough memory left available for the OS and the applications. This happens slowly, but it does happen, and the only solution is to restart the computer, which clears the cache. GreenTimer solves this issue by scheduling a restart daily, while getting the “green” portion of it’s name by setting a schedule for low power hibernation of the kiosk outside of regular business hours, with the restart happening when the kiosk wakes up for the day. Like any of our software offerings, GreenTimer is exceptionally intuitive and easy to use.
Zamok Homepage – The Zamok Homepage solution is the most user friendly content management system you could ever imagine. This tool provides administrators with the ability to easily customize the screen presented to users at the kiosk. The basic layout allows for 1-8 clearly labeled buttons, that can be linked to web addresses, local content, .pdf files, or even videos, and customizing these buttons is as simple as filling out 2 fields. The first is “what do you want the button to say” and the second is “where do you want the button to go”. This interface makes it incredibly easy to add to and modify functionality of the kiosk. Rather than have the kiosk tied down to one web site, or web application, using our homepage solution, the kiosk is now transformed from a purpose driven device, to a multipurpose device.
Zamok is easily customized to fit your needs
A good example is Churches who had purchased kiosks with the sole intent of using it for either child check in or accepting donations, can now do both with the same kiosk, as well as adding in event registration, visitor information, special donations, access to their website, and any other functionality they may desire. Buttons can be added and later removed for special events without having to “hard-code” anything. Simply label the button and point it at the new content and you’re off and running.
There are also pre-built custom templates for Zamok that have been designed to accommodate industry specific needs such as Human Resource applications. Contact a technical sales representative for more details.
Zamok Credit Card Solution – As our software is web based, and quite frequently it is used for credit card transactions, so we took a good look at how web based transactions work. There are 6 pieces of information required to process a web transaction at checkout.
1 – Card type
2 – Name as it appears on card
3 – Card Number
4 – Expiration date
5 – CVC code (the code on the back of the card)
6 – Billing Zip Code
People making a transaction at a kiosk generally expect the transaction to be quick and painless, and oddly enough will often look at any kiosk based transaction that takes over 60 seconds to be long and drawn out. In order to streamline credit card transactions at kiosks, we have developed an intelligent form filler application, which uses the information stored on the magnetic strip of a credit card to fill out the first 4 pieces of the required information, leaving your customer to simply need to punch in a 3 digit code and their 5 digit zip to verify the transaction. The form filler app works seamlessly with almost any shopping cart checkout we have encountered, and makes for a quick and painless user experience.
Zamok Cloud Management – The cloud management capability of Zamok gives you the ability to monitor and maintain a kiosk, or a group of kiosks remotely using a single login. You can view useful data on your users’ activities, showing when they are using it, what they are doing with it, and keep track of information on usage of peripherals like number of pages printed, VOIP minutes used, etc. It also gives you the ability to modify the various other module’s functionality. If your kiosk project involves multiple kiosks, sometimes dozens or even hundreds, it also makes it easy to roll out setting changes to multiple units simultaneously, all from the comfort of your own desk, without having to physically go to each kiosk to make the changes.
For more information, download the Zamok software brochure.
The Advanced Kiosks Advantage
At Advanced Kiosks, we’re not shy about the fact that we make great hardware, and we’re not afraid to tell you that it is not the least expensive hardware out there. We make no compromises when it comes to hardware. Ours is commercial grade and categorically built to last. Every component is hand selected and assembled with the intent of exceeding our industry best 3 year warranty on the kiosk enclosure, computer and software. In this industry, your hardware is only as good as the software that runs on it. One of the many advantages that we offer at Advanced Kiosks is that in addition to being a leading hardware manufacturer, we are also supply great software. The Zamok software suite of tools is pre-installed on every kiosk we ship and included at no charge for the first year. This allows our users to try out all of the great tools and functionality of Zamok.
We encourage you to shop around, but compare apples to apples
What we find really unfair in the interactive kiosk industry (and that we have seen recently from clients who are coming to us for a second opinion) are quotes from other kiosk manufacturers for tens of thousands of dollars, with maintenance fees of thousands of dollars a year, simply to duplicate the functionality of a client’s already existing website (all on a kiosk that would still require internet connectivity to function). These kiosk manufacturers are satisfied with stopping at being hardware providers, and either leave you to your own devices as far as software, or outsource to software companies for custom development, which often comes back costing more than the kiosks themselves! Their kiosk customers who fall into the trap of saving a little bit of money on the hardware are then left spending thousands of dollars on software, including lockdown kiosk software which we believe should come installed on every model before it leaves the factory. If (or when) they have a problem with their interactive kiosk they are left playing “monkey in the middle” with the software company saying “it’s a hardware issue” and the hardware company saying “it’s a software issue”.
We take pride in our kiosk software design
All kiosk models are designed and manufactured by one company, Advanced Kiosks. We develop and support all our products and software. If you have any questions or support issues, whether they be hardware or software related, you dial the same number. To quote President Truman, “The buck stops here.” We are truly a one stop shop, and while our kiosks are certainly not the cheapest, this is one of those cases where the old adage “you get what you pay for,” certainly applies. We firmly believe that great hardware + great included software = the best value you’ll ever find.
If you would like to speak with one of our kiosk consultants about your self-service technology project, please contact us today.
