Radiant Systems, Inc. launched Aloha Restaurant Guard, a powerful application within its Hosted Solutions suite that helps restaurant operators better control operations and increase their profit by as much as 5 percent. The application analyzes point-of-sale (POS) data and transactions to identify common restaurant employee scams and fraudulent activities.

"We have seen clear benefits since implementing Aloha Restaurant Guard," said Lori Kittle, vice president of information technology for Landry's Restaurants, which operates more than 180 U.S. locations, including Rainforest Cafe, Saltgrass Steak House, Landry's Seafood House and The Chart House. "It gives us access to invaluable information that we never had before. We believe fraud and theft have been reduced not only by identifying specific instances, but more importantly by the environment of accountability created by this new knowledge of such identification."

Aloha Restaurant Guard is a hosted back-office application that allows restaurant operators to gain visibility into potential theft that occurs in their restaurants. By monitoring all POS activities in real time, Aloha Restaurant Guard is able to generate reports that identify trends consistent with more than a dozen restaurant scams to help stop profit losses and minimize the effects of fraudulent behavior. In addition, Aloha Restaurant Guard increases the level of security in restaurants to deter theft and improve controls without any impact to the guest experience. Not only does the application use artificial intelligence to provide in-depth server summary reports that compile loss prevention and incident history, but the reports also give operators insight into their best and worst performing employees. Aloha Restaurant Guard has already been implemented in more than 3,000 quick service and table service restaurant locations.

"Aloha Restaurant Guard has been the most impactful application to our operations that we have installed since Aloha POS," said Jim Nichols, owner of Nichols restaurant in Marina Del Rey, Calif. "We discovered that more than 40 percent of our employees were stealing, and in one instance with a single person, the overall theft equated to a loss of $10,000 per year."

Ingram Micro Inc. has formed a new distribution relationship with NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. NextGen Healthcare is a provider of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management systems, connectivity solutions and revenue cycle management services for hospitals, health systems and physician practices of all sizes, including more than 25 medical specialties.

Ingram Micro will work with NextGen Healthcare to proactively recruit, train and support new partners focused on providing healthcare information technology solutions. This U.S. distribution relationship, which includes NextGen EPM (Enterprise Practice Management), NextGen EHR, NextGen Community Health Solution (CHS), and other NextGen and Quality Systems Inc. solutions, complements Ingram Micro's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) economic stimulus effort within the IMStimulus program, and enhances the solutions portfolio offered within Ingram Micro’s existing IMHealth program.

The distributor will also provide flexible financing and leasing options to help solution providers acquire NextGen solutions, increase their margin opportunity and minimize their expenditures. These progressive financing options are intended to help channel partners and end-users take advantage of ARRA stimulus payments for healthcare IT adoption.

"With the onset of the ARRA and the need for cost-cutting efficiencies in the U.S. healthcare system, physicians are incented to consider EHR and ePrescribing technology solutions. This, against the backdrop of government healthcare reform, makes the healthcare market one of the fastest growing sales markets for IT in the U.S. Working with NextGen Healthcare, a healthcare IT leader in this market, on behalf of our IT vendors and channel partners is a top priority for Ingram Micro," says Bob Laclede, vice president, business development, Ingram Micro U.S. 

"NextGen Healthcare brings a business-building, sales advantage to our channel partners and wraps healthcare IT sales expertise around our IMHealth program," continues Laclede. "Unlike other EHR offerings, NextGen Healthcare's solutions are channel-ready and can scale from the small to the large medical practice provider community, bringing our partners sales flexibility and the opportunity to capitalize on this sizable market. The NextGen solution can also be deployed locally or in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model using cloud computing technology, which is important depending on the size and technical expertise of the physician’s practice."

 
"We see tremendous opportunity, demand and growth for tailored IT solutions within the healthcare market -- especially among those practices and facilities looking to benefit from deploying EHR solutions," says Guy Baroan, president of Baroan Technologies, Elmwood Park, New Jersey.

"NextGen EHR is the solution of choice for the healthcare industry -- making this announcement from Ingram Micro all the more valuable to the IT channel."