Does this sound familiar?
Spont is a Point of Sale (POS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) for hospitality businesses. It is critical that their POS works reliably and updates menus, orders, and inventory in real-time for all customers in all environments. However, connectivity at all times isn’t always guaranteed, especially for mobile devices that experience disruptions, move out of range of access points (APs), or in between multiple APs. This often leads to unpredictable connectivity affecting business-critical operations such as app performance, speed of service, and the ability to transact. It became clear that their WiFi problem couldn’t be solved with more hardware or better WiFi. Installing better WiFi hardware for struggling customers was time-consuming, impractical, and increased implementation time. It also limited the environments they could deploy their POS to, such as large venues (such as the bar in the picture below), food trucks, and pop-up shops.
“Mobile is everywhere; businesses of all kinds rely on mobile for business-critical operations, but mobile is also fragile. Ditto keeps mobile connectivity running so our customers can feel confident using Spont.”
What can Spont do with Ditto?
- Provide superior system performance during disconnected periods
Every device using Spont’s software is capable of forming a peer-to-peer (P2P) mesh network, automatically connecting devices through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), local area networks (LAN), and P2P WiFi for continuous data flow without a central server or internet access. Ditto uses its algorithms to decide which devices to connect and which type of connectivity to use. With Ditto, Spont’s apps always prioritize the fastest connection available and upgrade to a quicker connection whenever possible for optimal performance. Anytime internet is available on any device connected in the mesh, data will automatically sync with the cloud. - Deploy software and set up customer POS systems faster
Using Ditto’s software development kit (SDK), Spont created an iOS POS tablet app, an Android kitchen display system, a mobile kiosk app for self-service, and a QR code ordering system. Since Ditto offers SDKs for all major languages and platforms, the complexity of implementing cross-platform sync between iOS in the front of the store and Android in the back becomes straightforward. For Spont, getting one of its customers up and running with its POS system is quicker and easier. Ditto enables a plug-and-play setup: Spont’s handheld POS device scans a unique QR code from a kitchen printer to connect it to the mesh network of restaurant devices instantly. This means that individuals don’t have to spend time configuring IP addresses to ensure that devices can sync - and new devices can be added instantly!
Flip Van den Bosch on Ditto’s effect on POS setup time - “Unbelievable”
“Normally, setting up a restaurant took at least 1 day, and we often had to come back again. With Ditto plus Spont, it’s just plug-and-play now. You just switch it on, connect the power, and it just runs!”
- Cut down on customer support tickets
Before finding Ditto, Spont took customers’ internet issues into their own hands. They would purchase and install expensive network hardware at customer locations to avoid future internet-related POS issues. However, manually installing hardware for customers is time-consuming and impractical and limits the environments they could deploy to, such as large venues, food trucks, and pop-up shops. This strained Spont’s development and support teams and limited their scalability. Ditto was the software solution to this hardware problem. No longer at the mercy of customers’ internet service providers (ISPs), customers receive peak performance whether they have an internet connection or not.
“When your customers rely on internet and cloud, and there’s one hiccup, even though it’s not my internet service provider, even though it’s not a problem with my software - it’s my problem.”
- Keep end users updated in real-time across diverse devices and order sources
With Ditto, Spont has built real-time data synchronization into its software. Rather than an API fetching data every hour, Spont customers can continuously monitor changes to their locally stored data and automatically update that information across all of Spont’s Ditto-enabled devices. Ditto instantly recognizes changes to inventory, prices, menu items, or any other information. Orders made through Doordash or Uber Eats are connected to Spont customers’ mesh network through the Ditto cloud and routed to a kitchen printer and display system. Spont’s pin terminal and payment gateway are connected to its point of sale with Ditto to automatically calibrate order totals and tip amounts that update in real-time as items are added to a customer’s cart.
Why does Spont recommend Ditto?
- Ditto is Spont’s competitive advantage in a saturated market. They are now well-equipped to deploy to large venues such as bowling alleys, food halls, and event venues that have previously struggled with 3rd party POS connectivity.
- With Ditto, Spont can set up its POS systems in less than a day and ensure continuous connectivity without expensive network hardware.
- With Ditto, Spont can break free from reliance on customer ISPs and massively reduce internet-related support tickets that bog down their team.
- With a Ditto-enabled database and P2P mesh network, multiple restaurant staff members can seamlessly add and adjust the same customer orders simultaneously without risk of overwriting.
- With SDKs and out-of-the-box support for all major languages and platforms, Ditto allows Spont to build features faster with fewer developers.
“Ditto isn’t magic, but it sure does feel like it.”
