NRA Show 2009 - Technology Update

This year's show was busier than I anticipated (thought the economy would take a bigger toll). It's pretty much a local show these days, but there were lots of people milling around and many of them spent time in the technology pavilion, though I did notice some tech companies exhibiting out amongst the non-tech companies. (Maybe they wanted to be next to the plentiful food tastings)

The technology companies exhibiting were most of the usual players. There were a few new folks showing off their online ordering software and some others with employee scheduling. (One company was named Monkey something, not sure what they do, but they were giving out bananas and all had monkey t-shirts on, I have to give them an 'A' for effort)

Lots of companies were showing off their new iPhone apps. Congratulations Steve Jobs, Apple has finally penetrated the restaurant business!

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the technology discussions. The panelists were very forthcoming with their experiences and really had some great insights for their audience. It wasn't about shilling for a specific vendor, it was just about educating. If anyone is interested, I do believe that they sell recordings of the presentations and I highly recommend the marketing one to all the operators out there.

So that's a wrap. Nothing too exciting on the technology front, but it's always nice to say "hi" to old friends and hopefully make a few new ones.

Tags: 2009, NRA, apple, iphone, show, technology

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Comment by Jeff Schacher on May 22, 2009 at 2:08pm: Jeff, I applaud your jeans and t-shirt approach, I'm glad it paid off for you. So many companies are guilty of the "me too" marketing strategy (myself included). It's nice to see someone with the courage to be original.

Comment by Jeff Epstein on May 22, 2009 at 1:52pm: Hey Jeff,

For the record, the guys in Monkey T-shirts giving out bananas are with MonkeyMedia Software - specialists in catering operations software for QSRs, fast casual chains and delis. We also provide ERP systems to food factories, commissaries and bakeries, as well as advanced e-commerce applications for online food retailers. Drop me a line, I'd love to fill you in on the details! We had fantastic traffic in our booth (bananas aside), and great response from some of the leading chains in the US. Hopefully, you'll be hearing a lot more from us in the coming months...

Comment by Jeff Schacher on May 19, 2009 at 1:04pm: Jonathan, thanks for your pointed comments.

I'll have to politely disagree and say that software as a service is not that new. My company has been helping restaurants save money and get greater insight into their company with our web-based solutions for four years and even Micros and the other established players have their "web" flavor available.

I did see Freshtxt and have seen similar offering for the last few years, so again, it's nothing new.

What I was hoping to see were community and relationship based tools, something that embraced social media. If I missed someone at the show doing that, let me know as you deserve a mention.

Comment by Jonathan Morse on May 19, 2009 at 11:18am: Wow, that was a crappy review. Why even write it?

If you took some time and did a little research you would see that technology has moved from client server based software to software as a service web based products. This means restaurants now have access to better software at half the price and no maintenance for hardware or software.

Did you bother to check out Freshtxt (http://www.freshtxt.com)? A great NEW company that is taking wait management and paging to whole new level. (and no I have no affiliation with them, just like what they are doing)

Restaurant technology is undergoing a evolution (or maybe a revolution) of new products that will enable restaurants operators to run their business better, save money and improve profits. Open your eyes and maybe you will see it.