The announcement this week that NCR Corp., a leader in assisted- and self-service solutions, had acquired mobile content company Mobiqa, signaled not only a merger of the two companies but also the two worlds of fixed and mobile self-service devices.
Now armed with a platform to converge the two companies’ self-serving solutions and principles, NCR is positioned to extend their offerings across more industries, including entertainment, event and retail sectors. The contents of the deal were not disclosed.
“This strategic acquisition signals NCR’s commitment to building out our mobile platform to support the delivery of our seamless multichannel strategy,” said John Bruno, executive vice president for NCR, in a company statement. “We are dedicated to making consumers’ experience of interacting with businesses easier by giving them the ability to move seamlessly between self-service mobile, online and kiosk channels.”
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Mobiqa utilizes SMS, MMS, web link and email as barcode delivery systems to mobile phones, optimizing the m-commerce process. The company’s partnership with airlines including Delta, Olympic and Aegean, allows travelers access to boarding passes and flight information. The program allows content to be delivered to over 600 mobile networks in over 150 countries worldwide.
NCR and Mobiqa are both active members of the International Air Transport Association, which has mandated the use of barcode boarding passes by airlines globally by the end of 2010. They are also members of a number of other global standards organizations.
The convergence of NCR and Mobiqa will further advances in mobile strategy and self-service, giving consumers the option to shift from online to mobile and kiosk channels in the airline, cinema, live events, rail and retail industries.
In November of last year, NCR took a similar convergence path in the digital signage arena in purchasing the assets of Netkey, a leading provider of kiosk and digital signage software applications. Following the acquisition, NCR combined Netkey’s software platform with its own technologies to provide a best-in-class enterprise solution, including software applications, hardware and a suite of services.
