MICROS Systems, Inc.; now owned by Oracle Corporation and renamed Oracle Hospitality (one of the global business business Units at Oracle Corporation), was headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, United States (as is the business unit it still based there). The company manufactured and sold computer hardware, software, and services for the restaurant point of sale, hotel, hospitality, sports and entertainment venues, casinos, cruise lines, specialty retail markets and other similar markets. Analyst estimates cited in 2003 put MICROS' market share at about 35% of the restaurant point-of-sale business.
MICROS Systems' point of sale (POS) software and hardware is used in the restaurant industry and primarily includes touchscreen computers for the serving staff to place orders, which are then sent to kitchen and bar printers for preparation. The back-office software, MyMicros (now named Oracle Hospitality Reporting and Analytics), contains different types of reports for total sales, total menu items sold for certain time periods, and more. MICROS provides different POS products for different restaurant sizes and styles, including products for single-entity restaurants, major chain restaurants (with centralized reporting), and multiple-restaurant properties. All MICROS products have the ability to interface to other systems such as inventory control systems and hotel Property Management Systems. MICROS-Fidelio is a division of MICROS that offers several software products for hotels including OPERA Property Management System, ORS Central Reservations System (now named Oracle Hospitality OPERA Room Reservations), and Opera Sales & Catering.
MICROS also offers several types of interfaces which allow the communication between other software. These interfaces include IFC8 interfaces that communicate using Serial or TCP connections that allow the OPERA PMS (property management system) to communicate with their own MICROS POS and other 3rd party vendor systems. The 3rd party vendor systems include guest room phones, guest room voicemail, guest room mini bars, and more. All systems are connected to each other in order to communicate data and keep a property functioning efficiently. For example, the IFC8 interface that connects the MICROS POS to the OPERA PMS allows for all items sold at the POS to also be recorded on revenue reports of the OPERA PMS. This interface is also what allows a guest to charge their restaurant bill to their guest room bill.
On June 23, 2014, Oracle Corporation announced its intent to purchase MICROS Systems for $68 per share in cash for a total value of approximately $5.3 billion.
History
The company was incorporated in 1977 as Picos Manufacturing, Inc. and changed its name to MICROS Systems, Inc. in 1978. MICROS Systems, Inc. was headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. The term MICROS is an acronym for Modular Integrated Cash Register Operating Systems.
MICROS Systems used several distribution channels including different regions, districts, and dealers.
Financial results
Notes
- The fiscal year for MICROS begins on July 1.
- Net income based on a non-GAAP basis.
- Dollar figures represented in millions.
Products
Point-of-Sale
9700 HMS
The MICROS 9700 HMS point-of-sale system is used in the entertainment marketplace, including casinos, stadiums, hotels and cruise ships. The 9700 HMS is platform- and database-independent. It can be installed on Multiple Windows platforms and can have the database run on MS-SQL or Oracle, including Oracle on Linux. 9700 HMS is installed at sites ranging from small, specialized operations to large enterprise configurations spanning multiple properties in large geographic areas.
MICROS Simphony
Built upon 9700 HMS, Simphony is a fully scalable cloud-based solution to manage an enterprise point-of-sale. Hosted by MICROS hosting center or the customer, Simphony offers one central database running on SQL Server 2008 (for which mainstream support ended in 2014) or Oracle database software. Local restaurants no longer require a back-office PC running the MICROS software, meaning local stores still require the purchase of the POS terminals and supporting hardware. MICROS Simphony Enterprise Management Console can be downloaded onto any PC connected to the internet and gives a direct connection to the Simphony server. This allows any Point of Sale changes to be made to any site anywhere in the world.
MICROS RES (3700)
MICROS RES offers a complete point-of-sales solution with comprehensive reporting, tools for the back-office, restaurant operations, and guest services. MICROS RES provides end-to-end communications throughout operation to increase efficiency and speed of service. The latest release, as of February 2015 is 5.4 which now supports Windows 7 installations. RES uses Sybase SQL Anywhere/Adaptive Server Anywhere standard relational database management system (RDBMS).
MICROS RES offers a number of solutions as a part of the product portfolio including; Table Management System: Offering the ability to take reservations, assign guests to wait lists, toggle table statuses & online reservations via myReservation online service.
GSS: A local customer database managing customer information, local gift card management, customer loyalty
KDS: Kitchen display system
Labor Management: Managing aspects of labor locally including; scheduling, time card edits, payroll deductions & employee management
Product Management: A fully integrated inventory management software. This software lends the ability to order, receive, enter PO's, inventory counts & full depletion from inventory when sold through the MICROS POS
MICROS e7
MICROS e7 is a point-of-sales system aimed at smaller restaurant locations. The system is not as customizable or detailed as 3700 or 9700, but is simpler and more user friendly. It has a built in limit of supporting at most 1 PC and 6 workstations. As of February 2015 the latest version is 4.1 which now supports Windows 8 installations.
MICROS e-business Suite
MICROS has a full range of online cloud-based software for managing a full range of different products;
myMicros: an online reporting engine which works with all MICROS software. E7, RES & 9700 relies on a polling service that posts to the mymicros database at increments of 15 minutes. Simphony is fully integrated with mymicros and posts real time to the portal.
myLabor: an enterprise cloud-based solution for managing labor. Offers the ability for local stores to create schedules which can be submitted to a regional manager or head office for approval, this schedule will produce forecast numbers based upon historical totals and can offer a projected labor cost based upon a schedule. This feature also allows employees to log into the myLabor portal to review their schedules and request time off. myLabor also allows for managers to log in for editing time cards, manage payroll deductions and the employee database.
myInventory: an enterprise cloud-based solution for managing local store inventory. Offering the ability to interface directly with major food distribution companies, managers can log into myInventory and place orders which will directly transfer to the distributor. Also gives the ability to receive, print count sheets, track inventory with a full interface into the MICROS pos.
myReservation: a cloud-based system for making online reservations which will transfer locally to the MICROS table management systems. Manage by time the amount of tables or covers you wish to take and offer suggestions when those time slots are full.
iCare: an enterprise cloud-based solution for managing gift cards and customer loyalty. iCare allows one to interface with the MICROS POS and issue gift cards that can be redeemed or reloaded at any location in your enterprise. Also allows for loyalty programs including points that could be redeemed for product or service.
Property Management with OPERA
OPERA is the MICROS property management system used in many large hotel chains, such as Travelodge Hotels UK, rown esorts, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Rydges Hotels and Resorts, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts,Jupiter Hotels, Marriott Hotels and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Resorts and Suites, Radisson Hotels and Resorts (subsidiary of Carlson Companies), the InterContinental Hotels Group and the Thistle Hotels.
It is the successor to the popular Fidelio PMS (Property Management System)
Pagers
With the acquisition of JTech Pager, solutions for the following areas have become part of the product line:
- Restaurants
- Retail
- Hotels & Resorts
- Healthcare
- Church
JTECH was sold by Micros and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of HM Electronics, Inc. For more information, please visit www.hme.com.
Workflow
- MiRetail Hub - A Workflow application written using Windows Workflow Foundation and designed for the Retail market, it was acquired with the purchase of the company Torex from Cerberus Capital Management
Subsidiaries
References
External links
- MICROS official website
- MICROS history on fundinguniverse.com
- Micros Support Forum
- History of Fidelio in wiredhotelier.com by the German co-founder Dietmar Müller-Elmau
- FundingUniverse.com history of Micros provides a detailed historical overview of Micros until the mid-1990
- [1] Israeli Micros fidelio