Internet of Things: Software AG brings new capabilities by partnering with loyalty card company Reward Technology

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Internet of Things: Software AG brings new capabilities by partnering with loyalty card company Reward Technology.

Software AG is bringing its Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities to a new partnership with Reward Technology, the visionary UK company behind loyalty and security card systems, 'to transform a number of sectors', including the retail industry.

Reward Technology will deploy its innovative RFID connectivity technology in combination with Software AG's powerful location analytics. This solution enables retailers to gain valuable information about their customers such as where they spend the most time in-store and how often they visit, as well as key data about their purchasing and web-browsing history.

"Shoppers are more likely to act on promotions or offers if they receive them as they enter a store rather than as they pay at the till and leave, as with conventional loyalty systems," says Oliver Guy, Retail Industry Director at Software AG. "This opens up a great opportunity for retailers."

Armed with this uniquely detailed level of insight, retailers can send more relevant and personalised offers to consumers straight to their smartphones, via SMS or email, as soon as they enter the store.

"The capabilities for personalisation are immense," adds Paul Sheedy, CEO of Reward Technology. "Retailers today are spending a lot of money on untargeted promotions, but with this breakthrough technology retailers can use a library of data to add that personal touch to each customer's experience. This is something we previously relegated to history, to the days of the shopkeeper-run neighbourhood store."

The use of Software AG's powerful analytics in tandem with the Reward Technology solution will also allow store operators to take a major step towards omni-channel retail, for example, notifying shoppers as they enter a store that the items they have been looking at on the retailer's website are now in stock.

The analytics also give participating retailers access to simple dashboards that present data such as repeat visitors according to times of day, locations within the store visited and the amount of time spent there.

Retailers can take advantage of the insights produced by Software AG's location analytics by remodelling store layouts, advertising and staff-deployments so they more closely match the revealed customer behaviour.

The Reward Technology system also benefits from a simplified registration system that is partially automated and requires little effort from shoppers, removing an important barrier to participation.

The partnership of Software AG and Reward Technology can be carried into other sectors. In the hospitality sector, for example, hoteliers using Reward Technology solutions will be informed of the presence of guests and their location far more quickly.

In buildings or offices, the Reward Technology system and Software AG's analytics provide operators with crucial real-time information about the location of each person in the event of a fire or security event. In another application, each user of drop-in offices can be more accurately billed for time spent on the premises.

Welcoming the new partnership, Guy said: "We are really pleased to be working with Reward Technology. Their unique application of RFID technology for real-time tracking has tremendous potential across many industries – not just retail, but also hospitality and security. Combined with Software AG's capability in real-time connectivity and analytics, we feel this could be highly valuable for our customers. Our partnership will be opening up many new doors of opportunity."

Paul Sheedy, Chief Executive of Reward Technology said: "We are delighted to be working with Software AG's dynamic team, who have a great can-do attitude, they bring immense expertise in software integration around the emerging IoT technology sector where our seamless connectivity solutions gravitate towards. As global players, the scalability and agility they deliver will make our solutions come alive. We have successfully addressed the challenge of how to digitise all customer information and we are looking at this partnership as a big leap forward for everyone in the IoT sectors."