The Microsoft RAD Award recognizes application developers who make the best use of Microsoft technology to provide business benefits to customers in the retail & hospitality industries and is judged by an expert panel, including members of the press, analysts, consultants, academics and retailers. This year’s prestigious award ceremony is being held at the Alder Planetarium & Astronomy Museum in Chicago on June 10, 2003.

The Write-On Handheld is a wireless handheld POS system that is revolutionizing order taking in full-service restaurants across the country. Unlike competitive products that use a cumbersome touch-button approach, the Write-On Handheld is built on handwriting recognition to create a simple POS system that works just like a pencil and pad. Waiters use the Write-On Handheld to quickly write down orders, then instantly send the order to the kitchen right from tableside utilizing 802.11b wireless technology. Managers use the Write-On Handheld to do everything from printing checks for waiting customers to viewing the status of all open orders to viewing real-time sales reports to receiving alerts when employees near overtime. Presently, the Write-On Handheld is installed in more than 45 full-service restaurants in the United States, with that number increasing every week. From California to Florida, restaurant owners are enjoying the convenience, increased productivity and quick return on investment the Write-On Handheld delivers.

Some of the criteria to be considered for the RAD Award, for which ASI’s Write-On Handheld shined, included: Quantifiable Business Benefits, which were defined as “faster customer turnover in restaurants, reduced checkout times, reduced employee training costs, reduced administrative and paperwork burden on managers (leaving them free to spend more time with customers and employees) and inventory synchronization across multiple locations.” Also, Ease of Adoption, which was defined as “solutions that are easy for customers to adopt and use such as an intuitive user interface, comprehensive strategies for pre-sales distribution and post-sales support and integration with the customer's business processes and training requirements.”

ASI is the choice of restaurateurs who seek to build their business and take charge of their lives. With software created to facilitate a multi-store chain as well as any independent restaurant, ASI’s flagship product, Restaurant Manager™, has integrated modules for table service, quick service, delivery and bars and is the simplest comprehensive POS system to install, train and use. ASI’s software takes the work out of work and makes life more manageable for the hospitality industry. ASI has always set itself apart from the competition with an emphasis on user-friendly design and system stability. The company’s approach to the Write-On Handheld interface continues in this tradition.