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StoreConnect Specs.
Why Trickle Poll?
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We at Systematic have been developing software for the IBM mainframe product line for
over 25 years. Our expertise in Assembler, COBOL, CICS, TSO, VTAM, NCP and Systems
Programming have enabled us to provide customized programming
and networking solutions to major corporations (such as IBM,
Bell Labs and Macy’s) as well as to develop and market our own communications
products.
Our IBM mainframe products are focused on the Retail industry, including Department
Stores, Supermarket and Chain Drug environments.
A number of major retailers have installed our Point-of-Sale
communications products (details upon request).
 | Our Incremental Sales Retrieval System
(ISRS) provides retailers with real-time retrieval ("trickle-poll")
of point-of-sale data from IBM 4680/4690 store controllers as well as other store
platforms, such as Microsoft® Windows NT®.
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| Our Store Transmission System/1 (STS/1) product organizes,
schedules, manages and monitors data transfers throughout the Point-of-Sale network. STS/1 automates file transfer requests and remote file
administration commands. These requests and commands can be started by an operator,
triggered by an external program or automatically started at a scheduled or interval
start-up.
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| Previously sold as separate items, ISRS and STS/1 are now available as a
combined offering, called StoreConnect™.
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| Host-Positive Credit. Systematic also offers a host-based
credit card authorization routing application, which processes credit authorization
requests from the stores. In-house and external authorizers are supported. We tailor this
application for each customer, to meet their processing rules and external authorizer
requirements. |
StoreConnect™
This retail enterprise application brings benefits and cost savings in
several key areas:
Enterprise – See the article "Why
Trickle Poll?" to see how the Executive, Operations and Network Control areas
benefit with this valuable feature of StoreConnect.
Information Technology – Many IT professionals have been given
the challenge to deploy new store platform and networking technology, while protecting the
investment made in business applications. StoreConnect is unique in the way it addresses
these issues:
| Investment Protection: Software – StoreConnect
is often used to replace legacy mainframe applications, such as IBM’s ADCS and HOSC
or older "home grown" communications solutions. It provides
"out-of-the-box" compatibility with customers’ applications and processes
that were written to work with these legacy systems. By not requiring costly and
time-consuming changes to existing host applications, StoreConnect overcomes a major
obstacle to new technology deployments: inter-system dependencies.
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| Investment Protection: Hardware – With our HostConnect/4690™
product, existing IBM 4690 controllers can seamlessly join the corporate intranet, with no
legacy SNA network dependencies. Support is available using native 4690 OS, or with
Microsoft Windows NT.
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| Support for New Platforms and Networks – StoreConnect provides its many
benefits, even working with existing SNA networks connecting legacy store systems. When
used with Systematic’s HostConnect products, it provides seamless integration of new
networks and store platforms.
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| Windows Server Support – A growing number of retailers are developing or
deploying in-store and POS systems, based on Microsoft’s Windows Server
platforms. After a
simple installation, Systematic’s HostConnect™
makes any Windows Server computer communicate to the host system just like a IBM 4680/4690
store controller. Beside standard data exchange and remote file administration
capabilities, HostConnect offers SNA or native TCP/IP connectivity, selectable at the
click of a button.
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| Networks: Intranet, Legacy, "Mix-and-Match" – While a growing
number of retailers are deploying corporate intranets, a large number of legacy SNA
networks continue to connect and manage POS store equipment. StoreConnect operates equally
well in both environments, and resolves a major obstacle facing retailers looking to
migrate their SNA network to an Intranet or Extranet: "Protocol vs. Platform".
(See "Migration", below.) |
Legacy. Retailers on SNA (Token-Ring, Ethernet, SDLC,
Frame-Relay) networks continue to connect their IBM 4680/4690 store controllers to the
mainframe, running StoreConnect, with no network changes at all. With HostConnect installed, Windows NT computers are easily
connected, just like the IBM equipment is or was.
Migration. Systematic’s products simplify migrations from
SNA to a TCP/IP network, such as a corporate intranet or extranet. Windows
Server computers,
with HostConnect, are switched from SNA to native TCP/IP protocol with the click of a
button. IBM 4680/4690 stores connect to Systematic’s host products, using native
TCP/IP, by running Systematic’s HostConnect/4690™
software.
During the migration, SNA and TCP/IP stores can coexist and the
different networks are seamlessly accessed.
Major Features
Advanced "trickle-polling" for the real-time retrieval, access and analysis
of store information.
Fully automated start-up, operation and error recovery.
Extensible, allowing other programs to control its operation. (StoreConnect can also
trigger other programs automatically.)
Intelligent monitoring and reporting functions, which detect common store and network
problems.
SNA and/or native TCP/IP networks supported.
Multiple time zones and "round-the-clock" operations
supported.
Optional data translation (ASCII/EBCDIC)
Optional output in ADCS format.
Specifications
The technical specifications for StoreConnect are located here.
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