International Business Machines : GK Software Collaborates with IBM to Accelerate Retail Innovation and Enhance Customer Omni-Channel Experience with Hybrid Cloud Technology

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 omni-channel 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.'

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 second-fastest growing business in the industry in terms of the number of installations worldwide. The company offers an extensive range of solutions for stores and enterprise headquarters as well as for the implementation of contemporary omni-channel 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 2013, 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.

The company employs 1,071 members of staff (figures for 30 September 2020) 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 115.4 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: https://www.gk-software.com

About IBM

For further information about IBM in the Consumer Industry please visit: www.ibm.com/industries/retail

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]

[1] See latest rbr research Global POS 2020 (category new POS without installations in hospitality and fuel)