The Executive Interview Series provides readers with exclusive insights from movers and shakers in the payments industry. The payments industry is under continuous transformation. This series offers diverse perspectives on everything from strategy to payments technology and the industry’s future.
In this interview between Jim Roddy, President and CEO of RSPA (Retail Solution Providers Association), and TSG’s Morgan Murphy, Jim discusses how ISVs are reshaping merchant operations, the growing role of integrated payments, and the need for solution providers to differentiate themselves. Jim also reflects on leadership, industry change, and what it takes to stay competitive in today’s retail tech landscape.
Bio: Jim Roddy is the President and CEO of the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA). He has been active in the retail IT channel since 1998, including 11 years as the President of Business Solutions Magazine, six years as an RSPA board member, one term as RSPA Chairman of the Board, and several years as a business coach for VARs, ISVs, and MSPs. Jim has been recognized as one of the world’s Top 100 Retail Influencers by RETHINK Retail, a Leading CannaTech Influencer by 420MSP, and is regularly requested to speak at industry conferences on SMB best practices. He is author of two books – The Walk-On Method To Career & Business Success and Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer – and is host of the award-winning RSPA Trusted Advisor podcast. For more information, contact JRoddy@GoRSPA.org.
Q. Morgan M.
Jim, you’ve long been a driving force in the retail technology space. For those just discovering RSPA or entering the channel, can you walk us through your journey to becoming CEO — and what fuels your deep commitment to this industry?
A. Jim R.
I’m committed to the retail IT channel because of the people. There’s competition among RSPA members, but it’s not cutthroat like some other industries. Our community works together to help each other even if there’s not an immediate direct impact for one of the parties.
That dynamic started me on a path to become RSPA CEO. The first person I met in this space, this was at the RSPA winter leadership conference in 2006, was now-retired APG Cash Drawer President Mark Olson. He introduced me to everyone he knew at that event, recommended leadership books to me, and offered me advice without asking for anything in return. Mark and others helped shorten my learning curve and showed me where I could help the most. That led me to volunteer more for the association, join the RSPA staff as VP of Marketing in 2019, and then become CEO in 2022 when then-CEO John Kirk retired.
Sir Isaac Newton said it best: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” RSPA is a community of SMB technology and payments solution providers and, at the same time, a community of giants leading our industry.
Q. Morgan M.
RSPA has evolved significantly to meet the needs of a changing industry. How has the association’s mission shifted in recent years, and what are your top strategic priorities as you look ahead?
A. Jim R.
We literally changed some of the words in our mission statement three years ago. Today our mission is, “To accelerate the success of our members in the retail technology ecosystem by providing knowledge and connections.” We used to say “POS industry” before expanding it to “retail technology ecosystem” to more accurately reflect our community and our commitment to them.
Our goal is to grow membership but not so big that we stray away from that niche retail IT channel focus. We have grown steadily the past few years to now about 750 member companies, and that new energy, new people, and new thinking have expanded opportunities for all our members. Our goal is to continue to grow to at least 1,000 member companies dedicated to retail, restaurant, and grocery IT and payments. That would provide our current members with 33% more potential new partners to learn from and go to market with.
Historically, VARs have been the center of the RSPA universe, but we’ve witnessed especially over the past decade the emergence of ISVs/software providers. We’re following the Jim Collins principle of embracing “the genius of the AND” vs. “the tyranny of the OR.” RSPA is focused on serving the needs of both VARs and ISVs because they are this industry’s demand generators. And I’m sure we will continue to see them blurring the lines between business models as more VARs add software capabilities and some niche ISVs sell total solutions directly to merchants.
Q. Morgan M.
You’ve authored books on leadership and hiring — critical themes in today’s fast-moving landscape. What traits do you believe are most essential for leaders navigating the next wave of disruption in retail tech?
A. Jim R.
The foundation of any good leader is being of high character. Without high character, you’re just manipulating people for your own gain or for some other purpose besides serving them.
For navigating the change that’s sure to happen in the future, company leaders and their teams need to embrace and embody Critical Thinking. Critical Thinking is founded in humility; it begins with the leader understanding they don’t know everything. They need to expand their knowledge to fully understand what are the current best practices and to fully understand the current situation.
Next, they have to think through what the desired outcomes are, both the business outcomes and the emotional outcomes. Emotional outcomes often get overlooked, but the ramifications of ignoring them show up when you hit your numbers but stampede people in the process. You devastate your culture, your people feel unimportant or like they are merely cogs to serve the business, and as a result you don’t win in the long run.
Only after you expand your understanding and determine your outcomes should you begin to map out your action plan. My college basketball coach preached to us “don’t mistake activity for productivity.” It’s important your actions are coordinated and everyone is pulling in the right direction.
After you launch your action plan, skepticism and analyzing the progress and outcomes of your activities is needed. If your actions aren’t yielding what you planned, it’s not a failure – it’s just that you now have a more refined understanding of the situation which means you may need to adjust your outcomes and likely adjust your action plan.
I know that’s not a high-tech, new-wave consultant answer. But it works. Leaders who ignore methodically following Critical Thinking do so at their own peril. You’ll drown in the sea of change instead of riding the right wave.
Q. Morgan M.
RetailNOW has become known as “where the industry meets.” What can attendees look forward to in 2025 — from emerging technologies to new business opportunities?
A. Jim R.
There will be a lot of “new” at RetailNOW this year. Over the past 12 months, RSPA has added 134 solution provider companies as new members. They’re rethinking POS and adding to it through niche software, AI, customer experience technologies, new payment methods, managed services, cybersecurity, mobility, edge computing, robotics, cloud technologies, and more. During our most recent RSPA Emerging Technologies Advisory Group meeting, attendees shared a wide range of technologies to keep an eye on. The most mentioned were AI, payments, and analytics. The focus for RetailNOW this year is helping VARs and ISVs better compete against what we call the margin-obliterating, VC-backed, 800-number, one-size-fits-all POS providers who don’t believe in the channel. Several educational breakout sessions and the show’s general session will provide actionable information to attendees to help them differentiate from the big guys who don’t have a channel.
Q. Morgan M.
Payments have become a cornerstone of retail tech strategy. How are VARs and ISVs rethinking their approach to payment integration — and how has RSPA’s role in this space expanded?
A. Jim R.
POS and payments are integrated, and I don’t think that will ever be unwound. The fastest growing segment of our membership are companies that lead with software. Some of them provide niche applications like AI, cybersecurity, and remote monitoring, but the vast majority play a role in payments in addition to their core function like e-commerce, loyalty, or niche vertical software. I recall a few years ago visiting an RSPA member software company and meeting with the CEO. He closed his office door and plugged his laptop into his giant TV screen. He didn’t show me a new software functionality they were testing; he shared a spreadsheet detailing how much revenue he was generating every month from payments. The numbers were huge.
The players, the technologies, and some of the rules have changed since that meeting, but payments continue to be the lifeblood of many VAR and ISV businesses. The RSPA’s role is to continue to add new members to give all our members more options for technologies and payments strategies.
Q. Morgan M.
Strategic partnerships are more important than ever. How do you see collaboration between ISVs, hardware vendors, payment providers, and VARs driving success in the modern retail ecosystem?
A. Jim R.
I’m glad you asked about partnerships, because a major focus of our association is helping retail IT channel companies find new partners without having to spend a lot of time and money.
Partnerships are more important than ever for sure because technology is changing so fast. One company on their own can’t keep up – even the largest, most sophisticated enterprise solution providers.
At the NRF (National Retail Federation) Big Show this year and other events I’ve attended, I found in my conversations with executives a greater willingness to explore new partnerships. For years or sometimes decades even, VARs and ISVs were locked into past partnerships and hesitant to explore other options. But when COVID disrupted everything including the supply chain, solution providers were forced to work with anybody who was able to fulfill merchant requests.
Today’s VARs and ISVs are very willing to explore new partnerships. If you’re sitting on the sidelines tightening your belt and not aggressively recruiting new partners, you’re going to miss out on opportunities. It might not hurt you in 2025, but down the road you’ll feel the pain for your inaction while others were out there shaking hands and building new relationships.
Q. Morgan M.
ISVs are reshaping how merchants operate and innovate. What role do you see them playing in the next era of retail technology — and how is RSPA evolving to champion their growth?
A. Jim R.
Let me take the “evolving” part of your question first because I think it shows RSPA is putting its money where its mouth is in terms of ISVs. I remember our leadership team talking in 2019 about the increasing importance of ISVs in the VAR and vendor world. We were providing a long list of services and benefits for VARs, but realized the only tangible RSPA benefit for software providers was helping them expand their reseller channel. So we went to work to determine how we can serve ISVs better.
Our ISV offering now is among the best in the industry if not anywhere – that’s what many of our now nearly 170 ISV members tell us. We formed a Niche & Startup ISV Community that meets every eight weeks online and at RetailNOW to share best practices. We also host for the entire RSPA community an online program called “ISVs Spill The Tea” which quickly exposes our members to 10 software providers describing what they do. We also established a new membership category for Direct Independent Software Developers (DISDs), software providers who don’t have a channel yet – many of them are small startups – and we help them connect with vendors, payment providers, distributors, and other ISVs.
If you Google “RSPA Software Provider Ecosystem,” you’ll see a chart of the software providers that are part of our community. We publish it every quarter and have to keep shrinking the logos because we’re adding new software providers all the time.
Q. Morgan M.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the single biggest challenge — and the most exciting opportunity — for the retail tech industry over the next five years?
A. Jim R.
The biggest challenge and opportunity is VARs and ISVs improving their value proposition to beat the 800-number guys. The big guys’ advantages are million-dollar marketing budgets and the ability to race to the bottom in price. The retail IT channel’s advantages are dedicated, local people providing exceptional, fast, personal customer service and offering a unique, tailored IT and services value proposition.
We get better when we face tough competition, and we get better when we work together.
Attending RetailNOW?
TSG will be attending and would love to meet! Contact us to schedule time.