Exadigm Prepares to Sell an All-in-One IP/Wireless Device

Exadigm Inc. thinks merchants and acquirers should be able to take for granted wireless and Internet connections for point-of-sale terminals in the same way everyone does for personal computers and cell phones. So it is gearing up a major marketing effort for a new terminal that runs on the Linux operating system while supporting wireless, Internet protocol (IP), and dial-up connections with the changeout of a modem. The wireless capability includes Wi-Fi connectivity as well as transmission over both CDMA and GSM mobile networks directly to processors. In this way, the device allows merchants to bypass gateways, which have traditionally acted as routers between wireless terminals and transaction processors. “It runs wireless on the same networks cell phones use,” says Michael Mulcahy, executive vice president of sales for the Tustin, Calif., company. Indeed, in Mulcahy's view, there's no more need for a gateway with his company's terminal, the Mate Plus, than there is with PCs or cell phones when they connect to the Internet. Exadigm is showing the device this week at the Electronic Transactions Association's annual meeting and expo in Las Vegas. Exadigm has mostly sold its product in overseas markets, including India, Japan, and South America, but is now preparing a major push in the North American market. Mulcahy is hiring a sales force, forming marketing plans, and identifying independent sales organizations that can help sell the terminal. His first target markets include fast-food and other venues requiring fast transactions as well as delivery and service professionals who require mobile devices. He expects to ship almost 20,000 devices in the next 18 months. The installed base in this market now is about 2,000. Of the almost $5 million in total terminal sales the company has racked up, about $3.5 million has come in the past few months, with very little marketing. “All that's been passive,” says Mulcahy. But not all terminal makers are prepared to sweep away the transaction gateway. Hypercom Corp., one of the North American market's largest terminal suppliers, is itself introducing three new models at the conference. Eric Duprat, senior vice president at Hypercom, agrees gateways may ultimately disappear, but for now, he says, they play an important role in adding transaction security and efficiency. He also points out that the gateways develop software for Hypercom, shortening the company's time to market.