2000 Resto in UK have adopted Cloud Computing.

UK takes to dining in the clouds
By Chris Ward, Editor of Business Cloud News

This will probably come as a shock to some, but the restaurant industry is leading the way in IT innovation.

By using Cloud Computing to improve the method in which they interact with customers, over 2,000 restaurants nationwide have been able to migrate to the clouds, saving time and money through a unique software package delivered by online reservation provider Livebookings.

The London-based company’s Software as a Service (SaaS) solution has allowed restaurateurs the chance to handle bookings, promotions and customer feedback through an online application accessed directly across the internet.

The application does away with the need for investment in previously costly hardware, while also giving restaurants the opportunity to deal with bookings in ‘real time’, enticing customers through their doors by creating new promotions based on daily booking levels, via websites such as Groupon.

It’s a system that’s proving fruitful for eateries ranging from The Ivy to Italian chain Strada. And with the online bookings market thriving, Livebookings has announced they will steamroll their software out to over 8,000 restaurants worldwide within weeks; tapping into a pool of over 7 million annual diners and ensuring the cloud will soon be the only place to find the finest feed.

According to Livebookings’ CEO, Colin Tenwick, the introduction of cloud computing provides the key to the restaurant industry finally working out how to benefit from IT:

“Online booking may not necessarily be a new phenomenon, but the previous need for serious investment in IT has often made restaurants cautious about how they use computers to work with their customers.

“Now, all our restaurateurs need is access to the internet, and they can catch online booking data to create instant promotions night-on-night and properly analyse the reasons people book their tables the way they do.

“The system is very intuitive, so you don’t have the enormous costs involved with implementing upgrades and the subsequent training as the new updates integrate into the internet package effortlessly.

“What we’re seeing is a whole new delivery model, but the benefits for the customer is the direct savings involved.”

Livebookings have seen the trend of online restaurant booking increase dramatically in recent months, especially in line with the development of Mobile Applications, in which the company saw a 20% user increase over 2010’s busy Christmas period.

And despite his concession that table booking Apps are still “lacking full functionality and user-experience”, Tenwick concedes that mobiles could well take over the booking process all together in the near future.

“Inevitably, you’re seeing more and more power in people’s pockets.”

Livebookings have worked tirelessly on developing their mobile platform in recent months, and Colin Tenwick has found himself talking up Cloud Computing more and more as their system expands and other industries start to make the switch to the new IT infrastructure.

His next big speaking date will be at the Cloud Computing World Forum in London on the 21st and 22nd June, where he will address up to 2,500 industry delegates and explain why the restaurant industry is proving to be the platform for other industries to follow.

A daunting prospect? For some, perhaps. But then Tenwick’s recent philosophy is to keep his feet on the ground, and most importantly, his head in the clouds. After all, it’s where you’ll find most restaurateurs these days.

Neurosoft Indonesia with Microsoft is providing the cloud solution for restaurant businesses which will bring your business ahead of the competitor and be more successful than ever before.

Read more on Livebookings here:
www.livebookings.co.uk

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