Tesco shelves Dos in favour of Linux

Tesco will replace its Dos-based tills with checkouts running Linux, creating a thin client set-up across the food industry giant's network.

The deal, between Tesco and Israeli company Point of Sale, covers over 20,000 checkouts across 800 outlets in Europe, including the UK, Ireland and France.

Using the thin client network, store managers will be able to access data such as store transactions and stock reports through a web browser, and each store will be connected to Tesco's centrally managed server farms.

Although the Linux-based checkouts will replace the older Dos system, the central server farms will continue to run Windows NT.

The supermarket has coined the phrase 'thin store' to describe the model, which has previously only been applied to small scale retail operations in the US via Point of Sale's US based application service provider, StoreAlliance.com.

Barry Shaked, president at Point of Sale, said: "Tesco's decision to adopt the web-enabled software system is evidence that a thin store strategy is also suitable for a world leader in the food retailing industry."

First published on uk.internet.com