Magazine: Restaurant IT systems

According to Novohost managing director Sándor Démy-Gerő, fewer guests in restaurants generate lower revenues for owners, who consequently have less to invest in development.

This is the reason why the market of restaurant IT systems contracted by 20-30 percent last year. USC managing director Sándor Bagdi also experienced market contraction, but stressed that those restaurant owners who managed to keep their head above water see the necessity of precise accounting, for which supporting IT systems are needed. Gyula Sasvári, the managing director of Hotelsystem is of the opinion that economic recession urges market players to innovate – and this is true for software suppliers as well. His outlook is a bit gloomier, though: only a small number of partners are developing and modernising, the rest are waiting for better times. Hotel Informatika managing director István Mérő is not pessimistic at all. He thinks that by now restaurant owners accepted the fact that crisis is here to say and give a go to formerly delayed investments. Lilla Varga, marketing manager with Szintézis sees great potential in tenders: according to her more than two thirds of new investors try to use this opportunity. The market can be segmented easily: family enterprises with one restaurant are less conscious about their IT decisions and are more price-sensitive; they want operative-type basic functions from software. Enterprises that operate more units focus on solutions which can be easily integrated into their existing systems: they want restaurant software and accounting/business management software that are compatible with each other; they also place bigger emphasis on statistics, diagrams and management information. Restaurants typically change IT systems in two cases: when replacing obsolete DOS-based systems with modern ones and when they get no adequate product support. The biggest obstacle to the spreading of new technology is price; but let’s not forget that in the long run the investment returns, e.g. taking orders with a PDA means that less people have to be employed. As regards smartphone applications, the integration of table reservations is a good direction. Affordable tablet computers, PDAs and smartphones could open a new horizon in the Horeca sector too. The point where these devices connect to restaurants’ IT systems is table reservation, placing orders and home delivery. What about new products? UCS introduced a digital menu card at the end of last year: with the help of software that runs on Apple iPad guests can select and order food and drinks, write comments and be informed about upcoming events in the restaurant. Szintézis introduced their application for Android phones at UKBA, by using this busy restaurant owners can pop into their restaurants, no matter where they are, through dedicated camera images. Novohost offers heat- and humidity-resistant receipt printers (which also tolerate water and other liquids) and touchscreen monitors, but their conclusion is that currently the Horeca sector is not really interested in technological development but in survival.