Image by Mark Lijesen

What is the most common cause of kiosk failure? Well one thing for sure it is not the components that are in it, selected well they will outlast the main cause every time. It is not the software although that is part of the real cause. So what is the real problem behind the failure of the majority of kiosk deployments?

Well in my experience it is the lack of forward planning that will cripple the potential of any kiosk rollout and no matter the budget of the initial deployment it is doomed to disaster unless some basic rues are observed. It is foolhardy in the extreme to concentrate on one Friday night first exciting stage of a rollout and believe that those gleaming pieces of technology with the cool software all wirelessly connected to a robust backend server will work forever.

Rule 1: Unless you plan for failure you will experience it sooner than you think.

Estimate how many cycles the kiosk will endure over it’s typical lifespan of 3 years and even more if you expect it to last 5 years and then try to anticipate how often it may fail, including software glitches over that period…and then double it. Factor in an appropriate and realistic budget for service and maintenance over the entire anticipated lifespan and then set that in stone. It is safer to over compensate for failure than over estimate for success.

Rule 2: Don’t be fooled by price.

Coming from a technology component supplier this may seem obvious but it is true. Don’t buy kiosk components on price alone..it is far more important to select your supplier for their ongoing support and product development over the full period the deployment. By all means source the lowest priced product available but unless you match it will reliability and service then it is false economy of the highest order. Being left with poorly performing or defunct components with no supplier support will sound the death knell of your deployment.

Rule 3: Never believe what you can’t prove

Thinking of undertaking a kiosk deployment program? Research is the key to success and the best research does not always mean the researching the best. More can often be gained from looking closely at why the majority kiosk deployments failed to make profit than from studying the few that made it big. Don’t be distracted by extravagant claims of success and large volumes of kiosks deployed instead apply your own fiscal measurements to determine a more accurate picture. Remember if you can’t work out how they made profit it probably didn’t exist in the first place.

Watch this space for more rules….