I am a frequent visitor to the busy outlet of Jason’s Deli (in my mind, one of the best-managed chains in the food business). A few months ago, I came in at lunch and tried to use the automated kiosk to order the salad bar. The kiosk software was not running, and I was able to see the underlying Windows logo — XP. The idea of processing credit cards on an unsupported XP machine is not one that promotes sound sleep. Fortunately, management resolved the issue in a few days, once the company realized the problem.

Jason’s Deli, despite being well managed, was caught off guard by the same issue that plagues most businesses I have encountered, both large and small: the inability to track and manage the computing assets.

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