We are the Borg. Resistance is futile.

June 06, 2017

Star Trek: First Contact was released in 1996 and used the infamous tagline for its marquee. The Borg had arrived and I shivered at their appearance. While I marveled at their advanced collective and power, the thought of being assimilated by this techno-beast scared the heck out of me.

It was also the height of the PC when mass adoption grew at an unprecedented rate and the standard Casio-like cash register was usurped by the PC at the point-of-sale. The swipe was integrated by larger retailers to capture the end-to-end sale at the client, back to the server, and granted collective control of all the transactions. This was state of the art. It seemed advanced and ahead of its time, despite its hard-edged coldness and mechanical persistence.

Locutus of POS. Is this what's become of Enterprise retail?

It was as if the Borg was at work back then and persist today, because almost daily, POS and payment companies are proudly announcing an Android tablet (see what I did there?), wrapped in impervious black plastic with appendages sticking out of it. The result is a monstrosity built on top of a future designed in the 1990’s. The industry has thrown an array of PCI, mobile and omnichannel requirements at them and they grotesquely evolve, adapt and assimilate you all the same. They would have you believe it’s superior to the beautiful sleek form that is human elegance and ingenuity.

SuitePOS is one of the first mid-market solutions to feature Square Payments and hardware.

Your shoppers are unique, curious and crafty human beings capable of greatness while doing it in style. Your retail wares and store culture should help them with this mission. You raise sharp, elegant web sites in a galaxy far, far away isolated from the terror inflicted at the storefront.

It’s time to take back what’s yours. You are not Locutus of Borg. You are Jean Luc Picard and it’s the 21st century. Resistance is not futile, it’s required, and you must turn the tide and resist assimilation.

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