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Education

on how they can grow their transac-
tions without having to justify build- Cloud computing, a definition
ing another data center or expanding
an existing one – they can simply According to Wikipedia, cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer
rent additional capacity from Ama- system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active
zon Web Services or its competitors, management by the user. The term is generally used to describe data centers available to
and if the transaction flow falls short
of projections, they can easily scale many users over the Internet. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple
back. locations from central servers.

It's far simpler to set up redundant
cloud data centers than traditional
private data centers, and to connect or in their hands. They are holding a solution that accomplishes just about
them to other cloud data centers everything they need to do. And, yes, it's "cloud-connected" so that their
around the world to enable cross-bor- transactions are processed and their value-added apps connect to back-end
der transactions and further devel- services without them having to worry about how to make it all work.
opment of international ecommerce.
This makes them more competitive Do not wrap yourself too tightly within the cloud mantle. That only lessens
and more amenable to creating new the value of the solution you are providing. If the merchant thinks the cloud
services, or partnering with fintech itself is the solution, it's far easier to justify switching solution providers. So
innovators. learn how to use the cloud effectively in your marketing, rather than letting it
obscure the value you are delivering to the point of interaction.
The benefit to merchants is that cloud Hervé Sinelle-Botinelly is senior vice president, Product Strategy, with AEVI, a provider of next-
makes it easier for solution providers generation acquiring services. He heads both the payments and marketplace product Strategy
to deliver a cost-effective solution at of the AEVI Platform . Hervé is a payments and new technology veteran with years of experience
the POI that is more secure and pro- managing teams to design and develop new products for e-commerce, m-commerce and secure
vides more value-added apps and payments. Contact him at response@aevi.com.
services. And these solutions can be
provided in a range of compatible
form factors, from smartphones to
compact terminals to devices with
larger screens, all of which can run
the same applications and access a
growing range of reports and other
business management functions.
An open platform that leverages An-
droid devices and application pro-
gramming interfaces (APIs) can de-
liver a multitude of standalone apps
that, with the right orchestration and
automation, can seamlessly interact
in the business process alongside the
payment app.

Don't get too wrapped
up in cloud

The risk to acquirers and ISOs is that
"the cloud" is too vague to convince
merchants of the value and security
of their payment transactions. What
they want is assurance that they will
be able to accept card payments when
the consumer steps up to the POI,
and that any cloud-related service
disruption won't leave them unable
to conduct business. That's why it's
important to sell the merchant on the
value of what sits on their countertop
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