The IT crowd

There is no escaping the ever-increasing presence of technology in the pub trade and the many wide-ranging advantages it provides.

Noli Dinkovski reports

Even the most reluctant techno-phobes have been forced to embrace the advent of technology in pubs, and judging by the increasing array of software and hardware coming onto the market, licensees need to become even savvier, or risk being left behind.

The rise of the internet, advances in wireless technology and ever-cheaper and faster computers have combined to fuel rapid change which means pubs are now able to run as smooth, efficient businesses with all incomings and outgoings closely monitored.

Advances in areas such as dispense-monitoring equipment, communications systems and electronic point-of-sale (EPoS) have enabled pubs to closely track the way they

operate. And more importantly, these benefits have been passed on to the customer, who is demanding higher standards of service and a wider variety of choice.

Just taking EPoS as one example, it's hard to believe any sizable estate could now operate without it. Long gone are the days when managed pubs would have to keep a handwritten account of their expenditure, conduct manual stock-takes and work out their stock requirements on a week-to-week basis. Of course, the cost of running an EPoS is still not viable for everyone, but systems designed for the sole trader are increasingly entering the market.

The growth of EPoS and its place in the market is highlighted further on in this technology special. Also in this section, we take a look at business intelligence systems.

Fast becoming seen as a vital operational tool for key decision-makers at pubco head offices, business intelligence can link up different databases into one master data source. Where before, EPoS, payroll and accounts information was held in isolation, now these separate areas of data can be quickly collated to give a more accurate picture of the whole business.

But, as the views of the pubco IT managers and directors we interview here show, there are many new avenues opening up on the technology front, and pubs need to be switched on to the options to get the best for their business.