Self-service kiosks are now everywhere, from grocery stores and airports to sporting events. These connected products support a range of uses, including visitor management (i.e. visitor management kiosks), reverse ATMs, smart vending, and Buy Online Pick Up in Store (BOPIS) lockers.

Self-checkout solutions can be powerful, but when a kiosk is down, it’s nothing more than an oversized paperweight. As we reflect on what successful kiosk management looks like, there are four ways to reduce kiosk device downtime and simplify technical support operations.

1. Leverage Remote Control to Reduce Onsite Kiosk Repair Visits

‍Having remote access and control over the settings and software of your kiosks will significantly reduce the need for onsite assistance or dispatching repair technicians. Remote control encompasses policy updates, software patching, security updates, firmware updates, and any other updatable kiosk software. The ability to distribute software updates over the air will greatly improve your staff’s productivity.

2. Prioritize Kiosk Security

‍You should remember that increasing the number of kiosks expands the risk of security vulnerabilities as each unattended kiosk becomes a potential access point.

Kiosk operators should employ traditional security tools (e.g., McAfee) alongside other cybersecurity products. Regardless of the cybersecurity product you choose, you must maintain uniformity across your kiosk device deployment:

• All kiosk software (including security products) must be managed, whether through policies, scripts, or other means.
• Kiosk management software must have the capability to detect all aspects of your kiosks' services, including the core settings of the kiosk computers.
• Preventing changes to settings and blocking shortcuts is required to ensure end users cannot access files and background services that should be off-limits.

3. Demand Regular Reporting on Uptime

No two kiosk deployments are alike, and the daily operations and end-user activity on a kiosk device will vary.

Product and support teams should work together, adopting best practices for reducing kiosk downtime through remote monitoring and management. Additionally, it's important to track not only the issues within your deployment but also the successful strategies for restoring health to your deployed kiosks.

The goal is to have a strong understanding of kiosk uptime.

Use your kiosk monitoring and management system to measure and track performance — e.g. tracking open tickets, complaints, and phone calls about down or malfunctioning devices. 

4. Future-Proof Your Deployment

‍Invest in kiosk remote device management software that allows for growth and adaptation. This may involve exploring beyond your current technology stack and utilizing third-party tools. Find providers capable of integration with existing systems — as well as remote monitoring and management capabilities that allow for automations. These remote device management platforms empower kiosk product providers to concentrate on their primary products and services.

Be sure to think through the build vs. buy decision carefully.

Remote Monitoring and Management for Kiosk Devices

To successfully manage a large deployment of kiosks, you'll need effective remote monitoring and management (RMM) software that is built for kiosk products. 

First, given the uniqueness of each kiosk product, effective kiosk management software should enable holistic solution management. By collecting real time health data on key components such as software, hardware, and peripherals, your team will have centralized visibility into the entire kiosk system health and be provided with actionable insights if there is a problem. 

Secondly, your kiosk management software should support multiple operating systems (OS). In recent years there has been a shift towards Android and iOS usage, however most deployed legacy kiosk devices are still Windows-based. As a result, companies are now seeking kiosk management solutions that will support their traditional Windows deployments as well as next generation Linux, iOS, and Android devices.

Third, kiosk management software must facilitate incident and ticket tracking for support. As part of continuous improvement efforts, an incident management system should assist operators in managing open tickets, RMA processes, and field updates. With kiosks positioned in increasingly restricted and remote locations, kiosk monitoring should also cover reporting and maintenance records.

Have You Heard About Canopy?

Canopy helps kiosk operators and product owners to reduce downtime and improve product performance. 

Canopy is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform designed to adapt to any kind of connected product — from kiosks to sports simulators. Connected product and technical support teams use Canopy to automate remote device management hundreds of thousands of kiosks every day.

At its core, Canopy collects data from endpoints, transforms it into actionable insights, and enables users to view and respond to this information within the platform. This data shows you the real-time status of your kiosk deployment, and our remote management capabilities allow you to take corrective actions or preventative maintenance to maintain the highest levels of product availability. Remote management actions include distributing software updates, initiating desktop sessions, tracking uptime performance, and automating issue resolution. 

As a result, our customers report 47% fewer inbound support calls and a 17% reduction in onsite technician visits to restore kiosk health. 

How Will You Monitor and Manage Your Kiosks?

Investing in kiosk management software is a strategic move for businesses looking to enhance productivity, improve the uptime of their solution, and ultimately drive superior customer experiences.

If your team is looking to grow its kiosk monitoring and management capabilities, know what remote device management options are available to you.

(And let us know if we can help.)