Here is what you need to know about the new PCI compliance standard when choosing a solution partner:
First, see below definitions to know what we’re talking about (like we need more acronyms in this business right?)
PCI = Payment Card Industry
PA = Payment Application
DSS = Data Security Standard

These standards were actually created by the various payment card providers like Visa, MasterCard and American Express. PCI casts a very broad net; it includes the card providers, gateways, merchants, banks and applications. PA is any software or hardware solution that passes or reads/stores sensitive data. DSS is the standard the hardware and software solution providers must write their code and encryption levels to.
For us selling and purchasing solutions that store or transmit sensitive data, when a customer asks if your solution have PCI Compliance, they mean is your solution PADSS Certified? Only a Payment Application (PA) that is Data Security Standard (DSS) certified can be compliant. This certification can only be earned after engaging a qualified firm and passing a stringent audit process. Many end users are not even considering a solution that is not certified.
The reason is that for a business to be PCI compliant – using PADSS certified solutions is only a piece of the compliance pie – but a very necessary piece. Network firewalls, database encryption, updated antivirus software and passing security scans (for eCommerce) are some other qualifications.
CitiXsys solutions; iCharge and iVend are PADSS certified and become a valuable part of the PCI compliant path for end users. So next time a customer asks if your solution is PCI compliant you can confidently say “yes we are a certified application”.
Happy Selling-

Recently I was talking to a few partners who created successful businesses selling CitiXsys products with SAP in their local geographies. I noticed that the most important aspect of their business success is also their biggest challenge – “User training”. A Retailer can have a world class ERP like SAP Business One, SAP Business All-in-One or similar products, with iVend Retail to streamline their Retail Operations. Customers with warehouses successfully implement Inventory Pro for their Inventory Management System with SAP Business One however the major challenge remains training the users who actually use the systems implemented for an agile function.

I have seen that every time a partner sells one of our products, he engages our consultant to train customer users. Larger partners have in-houses resources trained in CitiXsys products who in-turn impart training to the customer. This is not only expensive but also impractical at times. Getting all users in one room is a challenge. Not only this, but also the training resources need to block their calendar for individual training.

Considering all these aspects, we have developed e-learning lessons for all our products. These are very detailed training lessons hosted at http://learning.citixsys.com/. A partner can have their implementation & training consultants fully trained on our products. Customers can have their users undergo these online lessons at their own time and get fully acquainted with the system.

Business Growth Tool – E-learning is an essential tool for business growth. Employees need to be coached and their skill set must be upgraded on a continuous basis. If done correctly,this can produce great results by decreasing costs and improving performance. Unlike one time classroom session, online courses are available to every employee of the company.

Productivity Increase – Video based sessions are great tool to give the skills needed to enhance performance and productivity. Video based platforms are not bound by location or time; one can control training’s impact on production by training people at any time – whenever there is a need. By including online learning in your employee skill enhancement exercise, you’re asking people to do more with less.

Anytime Access - Classroom learning requires participants to align their schedules to the training calendar.  Online courses eliminates this because the courses can be accessed anytime, anywhere and from any location.  I have seen our own colleagues take lessons of product line to enhance their skill set.

Building interest – Interactive video based courses in combination of PowerPoint presentations and recorded demos can produce a very rich learning experience that is repeatable.  Some good practice sessions with feedback can make an environment help learners retain the course content that will produce positive results.

Reduced Training costs - With an effective learning schedule, each time the course is accessed by your colleagues, your ROI improves because you are not spending on classroom training.  You also have savings immensely by not hiring a consultant, reducing travel, and improving skill set.

Make it a part of your appraisal system – A well-trained employee is worth several times more than an unskilled employee. When you hire a new employee or you implement a new system, you need to train your existing employees; the biggest challenge is training them adequately to make them productive as soon as possible. E-learning bridges the gap between employee skill set and newly implemented system.  You get more from the software much more rapidly with a fully trained user.

Keeping the benefits of video based online interactive courses in mind, CitiXsys has developed e-learning lessons of all products. Some lessons are available in interactive mode with powerpoint slides and online demo combined whereas some are available in the good old youtube.com and other media. Idea is to make a lesson available in whatever form for the users so that learning remain continuous. There are new lessons uploaded on a weekly basis. Enjoy learning and happy holidays.