chnology or Cutting Edge? These devices can be connected to a centrally hosted parking
management system (PMS). Cloud-based ticketing and access control systems can be built over time piece by piece by adding re-useable software modules until all required functions are cov- ered through a stack of cloud software
applications.Modulariza- tion helps to keep individual building blocks manageable in size and complexity. Moving to the cloud affects the entire organization and can-
not be reduced to dealing with a paradigmchange in technology. Apart from the significant investments to create a complete new product set, the changes required in dealing with a new business model have proven to be significant. The way in which cloud solutions are sold is entirely differ-
ent from traditional hardware-centric or over-the-counter sales
processes.Most vendors have become used to offering hardware devices for ticket sales or for the point of access in combination with on-premises software solutions. Customers usually pay-per- device and for software licenses. Typically, additional mainte- nance contracts come for a percentage of the initial software license price. When ticketing and access solutions are offered in the cloud,
new business models apply. Cloud offerings imply pay-per-use models, instead of licenses and maintenance contracts. The soft- ware comes as a service for annual subscription fees; transactions
fees based on volume or other usage parameters; or a combina- tion of both similar to the contracts or plans offered by telecom companies. In a few years, cloud-based systems will be a part of every-
body’s lives, not because they are technically different or more sophisticated, but because they scale better, both in terms of geo- graphical reach and economically. Similar changes have happened in other industries. Exam-
ples are manifold, such as the introduction of e-banking and self-service in the financial industry; the radical change in the media landscape where downloads and live streams start to replace sales of CDs or DVDs; or examples such as Amazon, where e-commerce has substituted traditional sales of books or electronic articles. After all, one of the most security-sensitive industries – the
airline industry – has changed from on-premises, paper-based ticketing and access control to a fully electronic, cloud-driven e- ticket system on a worldwide scale. The rest of the ticketing and access control industrywill follow.
DI Dr. Harald Raetzsch, First VP of Technology at Skidata AG, can be reached at
raha@skidata.com.
PT
University of Minnesota Deploys Dero Zap Bike-Commuting System
Universities and colleges, nonprofit organizations, and pri-
vate and public employers alike are endeavoring to promote commuting by bike as an environmentally friendly and healthful transportation alternative. However, the lack of a practical and reliableway to tally bike
trips has held back their efforts to encourage and reward biking. Dero Bike Rack Co. has introduced Dero Zap – a solar-pow-
ered, automated RFID systemwith integrated hardware and soft- ware – as a solution for managing and monitoring bike commut- ing. Its announcement came at the 2011 conference of the Associ- ation for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education inmid-October in Pittsburgh. “About half of all daily commutes are five miles or less,”
said company President Rolf Scholtz. “To reward such com- muters who get out of their cars and onto their bikes …, accu- rate data are essential to determine eligibility and calculate incentive rewards. Dero Zap overcomes the biggest barrier to starting, sustaining and growing bike-commuting programs: counting and reporting.”
Parking Today
www.parkingtoday.com Said Steve Sanders, Bike Coordinator for Parking and Trans-
portation Services at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis: “Until now, everything has been based on the honor system, and organizations don’t typically offer incentives for results based on the honor system. Implementing this technology solution is our way to confirmthat people are actually using their bikes and then reward them.” The U of M has begun installing 20 Dero Zap units at its
Twin Cities campus, where some 6,500 cyclists make their way every day. The units use the same technology as RFID systems that
identify eligible vehicle for single-occupancy driverswho pay for the privilege of using HOV lanes on highways. Instead of pro- moting car traffic, however, the technology is used to encourage people to park their cars and commute by bike. Said Hans Steege, Dero CEO: “Counting is automated,
counts are precise and reports
credible.And that enables [organi- zations] to scale up bike-commuting programs as a serious tran- sit option.” (Source: Dero Bike Rack Co.)
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