Interview • 03.05.2013
”We were able to reach customers from all over Europe at the EuroCIS“
iXtenso interview with Stefan Herrlich, Managing Director Lancom Systems
Lancom Systems is a specialist for network connectivity for chain stores. One important target market for the company is the retail industry. At this year’s EuroCIS in Düsseldorf, the network specialist was an exhibitor for the very first time. In this iXtenso interview, Managing Director Stefan Herrlich talks about the current products of the company and sums up the trade fair experience.
Although Lancom Systems is new at the EuroCIS, it is not new when it comes to the retail area. Why did you participate at the EuroCIS for the first time this year?
Although we have already been in business for many years as a provider of premium IT solutions for the retail industry, until now we had not used any other medium besides our distribution partners to present the Lancom brand and the company. This is why we decided this year to participate at the EuroCIS for the first time ever to be more recognized as a manufacturer by customers from the retail sector.
Why did you choose the EuroCIS in particular from all the different trade fairs?
To us, the EuroCIS is the leading trade fair in the field of IT solutions for retail and logistics. This is why it was an obvious decision to attend this particular trade fair. It was also important for us not just to address German customers, but also to participate at a trade show that addresses a European clientele. We realized this ourselves while we were there: among others, we had visitors from Slovenia, Russia, Great Britain and the Netherlands at our booth. Since Europe is our prime market, the trade show fits ideally into our current sales direction for this sector, which we are presently focusing on in particular.
How satisfied are you with the trade show experience?
The EuroCIS has exceeded our expectations on all accounts, particularly as it pertains to the visitors and feedback. We have made several excellent contacts. If we succeed in gaining some of them as new customers, the participation in the trade show has already paid off for Lancom Systems. So far, I have been very pleased with the trade show experience.
What products did you present at the trade fair? Which one was your highlight?
Lancom Systems is a full-service provider of IT network components for chain stores. At the EuroCIS, we have introduced the latest generation of WLAN access points and mobile routers, which combined connects the entire IT infrastructure of the branch stores with the headquarters of the chain stores or the service providers. Our portfolio was well received with customers. Our LSM and LSR software solutions are other innovations, with which we are able to support chain stores and service providers even better during the rollout of several hundreds or even thousands of locations.
Generally, we make many different installations possible with our hardware and software portfolio; this ranges from relatively limited setups for small companies all the way to setups on a large scale with up to tens of thousands of devices.
One major topic at the EuroCIS is always IT security. How does Lancom ensure network security for its products?
As a German manufacturer that develops and produces in Germany, we are subject to the European and German data privacy laws of course. With our ”Lancom Security Promise”, we guarantee that there are no hidden backdoors in our equipment. The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is currently certifying this security promise for us. Other manufacturers – American companies for example – are obligated to integrate access for national security agencies into their products. This is different for our devices. In doing so, we eliminate the possibility that sensitive business data can be extracted from the network through this kind of access.
Our products are particularly characterized by their resilience. Especially in retail, the respective retailer is immediately affected by financial losses if an online connection fails and a point-of-sales terminal becomes inoperable for instance. This is why these customers especially emphasize stability of networks and devices. Our products also feature the opportunity to map a multitude of services in a single device by using virtual routers. This way, the retailer is able to offer a multitude of IP-based services without having to invest in a large number of devices and wiring.
We also sell a complete router portfolio with mobile connectivity, regardless of whether it pertains to transmission via UMTS or LTE. This also provides advantages to the retailer in particular. One example: if the “regular” Internet connection through DSL fails on a Saturday in a store, credit card processing is no longer possible. This can quickly add up to five-digit losses, depending on the store. A mobile backup service effectively corrects this. In addition, these routers can of course be optimally used for the individual connection of individual retailers with modern shop-in-shop concepts. This way, multiple individual accesses can also be easily managed with a mobile router.
Interview by Daniel Stöter, iXtenso.com
