Data Northwest has five state locations
Some folks contend Montana can be a difficult place in which to do business. Yet others prove just the opposite.
Data Northwest is a case in point: it was founded by Tom Wilson in Great Falls in 1982 and now has offices in Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman and Billings. The company's growth trajectory continues onward and upward, regularly expanding its line of business technology products and services.
Many licensed hospitality business operators may have become familiar with Data Northwest back in the 1980s through purchase of a simple cash register. Today, the company is known for its broad array of aids to business including point-of-sale (P.O.S.) systems and peripherals; security and surveillance systems; credit card processing; custom-built computer systems, servers, networks, software and upgrades; paging systems; time clocks ... now even digital signage.
"One stop business technology shop" would certainly describe this Montana company. Of course, they do design, installation, training and support for all they sell, too.
Certainly technology applications are designed to automate business functions, increasing efficiencies and cutting costs. But beyond that, Wilson said it is more about gaining real control of your business. For licensed hospitality establishments, that most commonly means establishing and maintaining pricing integrity, ring-up accuracy, speeding up order taking and processing, monitoring staff productivity, inventory control, loss and shrinkage reduction, payment control and limiting liability.
All these objectives can be achieved without huge outlays for expert analysis, equipment, training and support, Wilson says.
The number one P.O.S. system in the world, the U.S. and in Montana is the Aloha brand, and Data Northwest is the state's exclusive distributor, though Wilson notes they have installed Aloha systems in businesses in more than 30 states. He says they have 325-350 systems now in operation in Montana.
Interestingly, he also estimated perhaps just 700 or 800 of the 2,500 or so businesses licensed for alcohol sales in Montana are running P.O.S. systems, whereas elsewhere in the nation and world, the percentage is a lot higher. That would indicate Montana represents a true growth market for P.O.S. systems.
Further, Wilson noted many early installations of other brands dating back 10 years and even more, are usually in need of a substantial or even total upgrade. In addition, the technology is ever evolving, making systems more user friendly, more effective and less expensive. So the future for P.O.S. in Montana looks bright, he says.
Wilson says the primary reason Aloha has grabbed and grown market share is ease of use. In fact, he says, a Montana business owner who just installed a competing brand called and asked to see the Aloha system, as his employees were struggling and some were familiar with the Aloha from having worked in other establishments using it and were recommending it instead.
"Businesses need a technology vendor that has been around for awhile, too," Wilson says. "There were a lot of dealers when we started out that are long gone. Many others are just one-man shows where an individual is expected to sell, design, install, train and support, and run their own business besides. At Data Northwest, we have individual departments that perform those functions with real expertise.
"Many of our customers operate businesses that never close: hotels, groceries, C-stores, so we never close either. We have support available 24/7."
For the small mom and pop hospitality business, Wilson says a functional Aloha system – hardware, software, system set-up, training and support – can be had for $3,000 to perhaps $5,000.
But he emphasizes "it depends on the environment. We would want to do an interview with the customer, do a business needs analysis, then carefully design an optimal system, but one with built-in expandability. Our customers, once they find out how useful these systems are – what kind of positive impact they have on the bottom line – are usually eager to go to the next step."
That "next step" may involve integrating the P.O.S. or the cash registers with surveillance systems, with credit card processing ... the whole gamut. That's what Data Northwest does.
Wilson cites the case of a Livingston customer who installed a P.O.S. system along with an integrated video security system "The customer earned back his investment for it all in one month," Wilson says. "The systems were responsible for a $10,000 increase in sales in the first month. I can understand why someone might be skeptical of a claim like that," Wilson says, "but this is what customers are telling us."
Data Northwest deals primarily in Talon and Arm Electronics video surveillance but can customize a system using a variety of component brands.
P.O.S. and the other systems produce information in functional formats, Wilson says. "A business owner who wants to really know what is going on in his business can drill down into these reports and spot discrepancies. You can view every transaction in its entirety.
"But Aloha has a very unique feature," Wilson says, offered by no other manufacturer: it's called "Restaurant Guard." Business data can be submitted to Aloha which has sophisticated software that scans data and detects peculiar patterns that indicate a business is being scammed.
"If you think no employees are trying to figure out ways to get away with something, you'd be mistaken," Wilson says. In fact he tells of a widely circulated book familiar to most hospitality workers that goes into great detail in how to do exactly that: scam your employer.
"Every site where we've installed a system, issues have been discovered," Wilson said. Part of the Data Northwest service is working with owners and managers to spot the anomalies that indicate trouble. "We help you learn what to look for," he says.
The more "watchdogs" or controls a business installs, the more honest employees will be, Wilson contends. And those "watchdogs" can be accessed by owners anywhere there is an Internet connection available. Vacationing in Florida? Watch the activity within your business; check sales receipts, time clocks ... you're practically on-site.
Of course, video surveillance can be a deterrent to burglaries and robberies, and is an extremely useful tool in catching perpetrators, Wilson adds. Bogus lawsuits for personal injury or fraudulent work comp claims can be prevented, too.
"It's all about protecting the business, protecting employees and protecting customers," Wilson says. "Montana is sometime a little slow at adopting new technology, but if you're not paying close attention to your business, you'll suffer losses. We can help prevent that."