June 2005

Raising the stakes: Eatec ups the ante with ASP offering and integration engine

By H. Rae Gibbons

Implementing new technology is always a gamble. And the risk for a hospitality or foodservice operation can either pay off big with solutions that streamline processes and shift the focus to the customer, or it can lead to a complete breakdown in daily operations that negatively impacts the bottom line. The key is to choose wisely, and that means finding a provider that meets your immediate needs and offers ongoing support.

Technology providers need to continually evolve in order to stay abreast of the industry they service. This is done by not only enhancing their solutions but also by improving the way in which those solutions are presented.

Eatec Corp., provider of enterprise back-office software, recently announced two major offerings: The availability of EatecNetX through a new application service provider (ASP) model; and the introduction of EatecExchange, a behind-the-scenes engine for integration with programs including point-of-sale (POS), supply chain management and financial systems.

Give ‘em what they want

More and more, hospitality and foodservice operators are turning to outsourced technology and support to better run their business. Utilizing an ASP model provides a welcome alternative to purchasing traditional hardware and having an internal IT team.

Hospitality and foodservice operations come in all types and sizes, from international chains to independents, and each operation comes with its own specific requirements when implementing technology. Eatec recognized the need to offer its enterprise back-office solution, EatecNetX, through an ASP model as well as through the company’s traditional licensing agreements in order to satisfy the demands of its diverse clientele.

“Over the last year or two, we’ve seen an increase of inquiries about ASP offerings, which told us we needed to step up and offer another purchasing option,” said Peter Marguglio, president of Eatec.

Marguglio further stated that the ASP model will only expand its user base. “We see ASP as incremental business, as it should not affect our traditional perpetual license model.”

The ASP program delivers all of EatecNetX’s enterprise capabilities and is hosted in a secure data center, delivered via the Internet, greatly reducing the up-front investment and total cost-of-ownership for many foodservice operations. Server-side hardware, hardware maintenance, software upgrades, database maintenance and backup procedures are provided for a periodic fee, which is typically paid on a quarterly basis.

Along with its core purchasing, inventory, recipe, forecasting, production, and sales analysis functions, EatecNetX offers catering, restaurant, concessions, manufacturing, retail/merchandising and airline catering modules in one integrated solution.

EatecNetX’s modular software structure is customizable, which enables users to select the features that best suit their individual business. Additionally, EatecNetX interfaces to any accounting or POS system, and can be seamlessly integrated with business-to-business (B2B) exchanges.

“As an ASP, Eatec now offers access to its world-class EatecNetX software to many companies that would otherwise find it difficult to justify the required investment,” stated Marguglio. “This allows companies to replace capital expenditures with pay-as-you-go operational expenses, reducing the investment risks in a rapidly changing technology environment.”

Strong, quiet type

Sometimes it’s the technology that you can’t see that makes a world of difference to your daily operations. EatecExchange is Eatec's behind-the-scenes engine that integrates programs including POS, supply chain management and financial systems. It supports industry standards and specialty integration from B2B mainstays such as EDI x.12 through more modern XML/SOAP and .NET Web services. 

EatecExchange opens up new opportunities for integration between the various aspects of an operation’s business. It acts as a data broker, supplying information stored in the Eatec database in flexible file formats.

Through EatecExchange, any data stored in Eatec may be requested or scheduled for export, and any valid Eatec transaction may be accepted as an import file from outside systems. EatecExchange performs as an import engine as well, offering the opportunity for much of the Eatec source or transactional data to be generated elsewhere, and then submitted to Eatec's database for posting. 

For POS, inventory, and financial systems integration, the data can be exchanged in a number of formats including XML over HTTP, via flat file on a mapped network drive, through an FTP site, or by connecting directly to another system’s database.

For POS or inventory systems integration, the information needs to flow from one system to another: “Traditionally for this type of integration, files are created in one system and imported into another. This makes it difficult to transfer a file from A to B. The file is there, but how do we get the other system to accept it? With EatecExchange, that’s no longer a problem,” said Jeff Gebhardt, director of research and development for Eatec.

For financial systems integration, EatecExchange uses the same programs to produce the extract from Eatec as with POS and inventory systems, and the programs are tailored to the user’s exact specifications by using SQL views to properly filter and format the data.

For Supply Chains B2B integration, the nature of the communication is varied and it’s all done at base level, but it utilizes the same concept as the previously mentioned integrations. Gebhardt noted, “Eatec accepts an order guide from a supplier and then submits the purchase order. Eatec then accepts a confirmation and an invoice.” Added Gebhardt, “In certain environments, it’s possible that the entire purchasing and receiving process can be automated.”

“EatecExhange is capable of integrating with any system,” concluded Gebhardt. “Ours is an enterprise-based system that puts an entire database at the administrator’s fingertips.”

Attention to detail

Eatec’s two recent offerings prove that it has its eye on the needs of the markets it serves.

ASPs can reduce the amount of time, money and attention spent on information technology, allowing foodservice and hospitality organizations to focus more on providing excellent customer service. The lower cost of entry and more predictable IT support costs help simplify IT budgets. ASP makes the best IT practices affordable for organizations of all sizes, especially those with limited IT staff, budget or infrastructure.

And EatecExchange allows users increased flexibility with how they integrate their various systems, which is extremely useful in industries that have such a broad range of sizes and types.

With a technology provider like Eatec that focuses on the immediate, as well as the ongoing needs of its customers, implementing its solutions seems like less of a gamble and more of a safe bet.

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