NCR, the Duluth technology company, is well on its way in shifting its business from hardware to more-profitable software sales.
The company's future, NCR president, chairman and CEO Bill Nuti said in a company conference call Thursday, is as a "hardware-enabled, software-driven" business. In addition to selling hardware like ATMs and self-checkout machines, NCR is moving further into the business of selling software as a service.
The company is rolling out a new product for retailers called NCR Silver that Nuti called a game-changer. He said the service allows retailers to interact with shoppers through iPads and iPhones, in addition to using the devices to help customers check out.
Still, NCR's biggest business is its financial services division, where orders increased 97 percent over the first quarter of 2011. NCR has a $1.17 billion backlog in financial services orders, Nuti said, and is adding more U.S. regional banks as they use capital they had been holding back to pay for technology upgrades.
The company has continued to upgrade ATM technology and is selling more payment software since it acquired Alpharetta-based Radiant Systems last summer. The company said the integration is going well.
Earlier this week, NCR raised its expectations for the year, saying the company did better than expected across the board.
NCR made $30 million in the first quarter, a 114 percent increase over the $14 million it made in the first quarter of 2011. The company had previously announced it would raise its 2012 revenue expectations 4 percent, to increase between 11 and 13 percent over 2011.
