By: Brittany DeGroat, Star Micronics
With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and other advanced technologies, cloud services adoption is becoming increasingly common. Gartner reports that public cloud services spending will grow to $723.4 billion in 2025, up from $595.7 billion last year.
Cloud services benefit different industries in various ways, particularly for cloud point of sale (POS) services. For retailers and restaurateurs, cloud POS services enable managing POS devices and peripherals remotely. Managers can monitor devices to ensure they’re online and operating properly. They may also be able to run diagnostics remotely to address maintenance issues that might be brewing. A cloud POS enables a proactive approach that maximizes uptime rather than reacting when a printer or other device stops working.
Cloud POS services can also make data and tools available to employees across an organization, saving time and ensuring brand consistency.
So, What’s Holding You Back from Using Cloud POS Services?
Even though cloud solutions offer retailers and restaurateurs numerous benefits, it’s common for business leaders to have some concerns. Getting the facts will help you understand how cloud solutions work and the safeguards that are in place so you can move forward confidently. Some of the most important facts you need to know about cloud POS services are:
Cloud POS Services Are Secure
While news of cyberattacks has become common, using cloud POS services doesn’t necessarily increase your risk. Cloud service providers invest heavily in securing their offerings and keeping up with changes in the threat landscape.
In most cases, the security measures the vendor has in place far exceed anything a single retailer or restaurateur could establish. By partnering with a trusted vendor, you can be confident that your data and your business are safeguarded by robust security measures.
Your Data Is Private
Cloud POS services providers are careful to keep each customer’s data private. No other customers have access to your data; they can’t see the label templates you have built or access digital receipts you store to make returns more convenient for your customers. The only people who can access your data are your employees who use the right login credentials.
You Can Work Offline
While accessing your data in the cloud requires a network connection, this doesn’t mean you can’t work when you’re offline. Cloud POS services often provide a way to establish a “hybrid” system where information is stored locally. This allows your employees to access it during network outages and sync when the connection is restored. Cloud service providers ensure that your workflows remain uninterrupted.
You Can Afford Them
Cost is always a consideration, but with cloud POS services, it’s important to think in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO). You don’t need the same amount of infrastructure on-site to do the same things that a cloud solution does. You use the provider’s resources, not your own servers, for things like data storage, backup, and data security.
When you consider all costs and all cost savings, including gains in operational efficiency, cloud services are generally more cost-effective than on-premises solutions. Furthermore, when it comes to Star Micronics Cloud Services, they’re included at no additional cost with our cloud-ready printers.
They’re Easy to Use
A major concern among business leaders is that cloud POS services may be too challenging for their employees to use. However, a quick demo will demonstrate how easy using cloud services can be. You can easily create promotions from templates and manage them from any connected device. For your employees, adding marketing messages to receipts is effortless.
What are additional benefits of Cloud POS?
If you’re exploring cloud POS options, it’s worth getting familiar with additional benefits. Cloud POS gives developers and operators the power to:
- Print directly from web apps—no middleware or local server required
- Receive real-time feedback from the printer (status, errors, confirmations)
- Scale easily across locations and devices
- Support complex workflows like multi-item labeling or off-premise fulfillment
It’s the ideal solution for ISVs, enterprise foodservice operators, and QSRs looking to streamline remote order fulfillment without sacrificing control or reliability.
