PRESS RELEASE : GK Software establishes alliance with IBM to accelerate retail innovation and enhance customer omnichannel experience with hybrid cloud technology

DGAP-News: GK Software SE / Key word(s): Agreement 
GK Software establishes alliance with IBM to accelerate retail innovation and enhance customer omnichannel experience 
with hybrid cloud technology 
2021-06-02 / 10:35 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
=---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  . GK's CLOUD4RETAIL hosted on IBM Cloud to help drive innovation and enhance the omnichannel experience 
  . Global relationship for a joint go-to-market 
GK Software (FRA: GKS) today announced that it has launched a new collaboration with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to help drive next 
generation retail underpinned by hybrid cloud technology from IBM and Red Hat. Furthering their work together, the 
companies will help retailers to innovate and adapt quickly to the digital era by offering consumers enhanced and 
connected omnichannel experiences. 
This relationship will help to provide retailers with an enhanced pathway to retail innovation using IBM's secured 
cloud technology and extensive industry services alongside the leading enterprise cloud solution for retail. As part of 
the collaboration, GK Software's CLOUD4RETAIL, currently the solution most rolled out to major retailers worldwide in 
new projects^[1], is now accessible via IBM Cloud, accelerating hybrid cloud adoption within the industry. This global 
relationship also supports a joint go to market strategy which enables IBM's Global Services (GBS) to build integrated 
solutions and innovative offerings for retailers. 
CLOUD4RETAIL is GK Software's flexible, open commerce platform providing services for the operation of integrated 
unified commerce environments from in-store and online touchpoints through to mobile devices. The platform is enriched 
by innovative services such as AI-based dynamic pricing, personalization, fraud detection, and mobile applications. Now 
optimized on IBM Cloud, the industry's most secured and open public cloud for business, the extensive expansion and 
customization options of the various CLOUD4RETAIL services, can be used on a wide range of devices. 
GK Software will also extend the deployment flexibility of CLOUD4RETAIL by adopting Red Hat OpenShift, the industry's 
leading enterprise Kubernetes platform, allowing customers to run GK solutions across hybrid environments - from 
on-premises to multi-cloud environments and at the edge. 
Michael Scheibner, Chief Strategy Officer of GK Software, says: "GK Software and IBM share a long partnership in the 
retail industry and many common customers. We are very pleased to accompany retailers on their transition to the cloud 
in cooperation with IBM. We believe that we can make an excellent offer for holistic omnichannel processes based on 
state-of-the-art technology, especially to long-standing IBM customers. 
"This position is also underlined by Luq Niazi, Global Managing Director IBM Consumer Industries; "The challenges 
facing many retailers are extensive; diverse customer expectations, intense competition, increased operational 
complexity and ongoing cost pressure, all while navigating the disruptions and uncertainty of today's changing retail 
landscape. By adopting a hybrid cloud strategy with IBM and Red Hat technology, managed by IBM Services, CLOUD4RETAIL 
can enable retailers to modernize applications and connect multiple technologies and the resulting data across the 
store, offering a more personalized and secured experience for shoppers." 
^[1] See latest rbr research Global POS 2020 (category new POS without installations in hospitality and fuel) 
 
About IBM 
For further information about IBM in the Consumer Industry please visit: www.ibm.com/industries/retail 
About GK Software SE 
GK Software SE is a leading developer and provider of standard software for the retail sector, and currently counts 22 
percent of the world's 50 largest retailers among its customer base. According to a study published by RBR 2020, the 
Company is one of the leading international providers of POS software and is the fastest growing business in the 
industry in terms of the number of installations worldwide (without Hospitality and Petrol). The company offers an 
extensive range of solutions for stores and enterprise headquarters as well as for the implementation of contemporary 
omnichannel retail concepts. Thanks to its open and platform-independent software solutions in the GK/Retail Suite, the 
company has established itself as one of the market's leading providers of technology and innovations. Its solutions 
enable retail chains with numerous stores to optimize their business processes and to benefit from significant 
potential for saving costs and implementing customer loyalty programs in order to improve their competitiveness. In 
addition to its own software solutions, GK Software SE also offers customers a comprehensive range of implementation 
and maintenance services. Having been acquired in 2012, AWEK GmbH and in 2015, the retail segment of DBS Data Business 
Systems Inc. In 2017, the company acquired a majority shareholding in prudsys AG, a company focused on artificial 
intelligence. In 2018, the valuephone GmbH was acquired, which develops leading solutions for mobile consumers. retail7 
GmbH, specializing in cloud solutions for smaller retailers, was founded in 2020. 
The company employs 1,159 members of staff (figures for 31 March 2021) across its headquarters in Schöneck (Germany) 
and other business locations in Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, South Africa, Russia, Ukraine and the USA. GK 
Software SE's customers include many well-known retailers, including Adidas, Edeka, Lidl, Aldi, Coop (Switzerland), 
Netto Marken-Discount, Hornbach, Migros, Grupo Kuo and Walmart. The software is currently being used at almost 500,000 
retail and payment installations across approximately 100,000 stores in more than 60 countries. The company has grown 
rapidly in recent years and its sales revenues totaled EUR 117.6 million in 2020. Since launching the company in 1990, 
the two founders Rainer Gläß (CEO) and Stephan Kronmüller (deputy board member), together with the experienced 
management team, have shaped GK Software into a profitable company exhibiting strong growth. 
Further information about the company: www.gk-software.com 
Contact 
Investor Relations 
GK Software SE 
Dr. René Schiller 
Phone: [phone] 
Fax: [phone] 
E-mail: [e-mail] 
External Relations 
IBM 
Ken Saunders 
Phone: [phone] 
E-mail: [e-mail] 
=---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
2021-06-02 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. 
Archive at www.dgap.de 
=---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Language:     English 
Company:      GK Software SE 
              Waldstraße 7 
              08261 Schöneck 
              Germany 
Phone:        [phone] - 0 
Fax:          [phone] - 15 
E-mail:       [e-mail] 
Internet:     www.gk-software.com 
ISIN:         DE0007571424 
WKN:          757142 
Listed:       Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, 
              Tradegate Exchange 
EQS News ID:  1203535 
 
End of News   DGAP News Service 
=------------ 

1203535 2021-06-02

 
Image link: 
https://eqs-cockpit.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=show_t_gif&application_id=1203535&application_name=news

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 02, 2021 04:36 ET (08:36 GMT)