The Industry At Work: RTN Members Speak Up
At MURTEC 2020, the Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) (www.restauranttechnologynetwork.com) will celebrate its first-year anniversary by announcing milestone achievements and hosting MURTEC’s first-ever Start-Up Alley, as well as leading educational and networking sessions at the event.
Since RTN’s launch, the community has grown to 125+ members, 13 Board of Governors members and 12 Vendor Advisory Council members. RTN has also launched four virtual think-tank workgroups into the market, including Buyer’s Guide & Standard RFPs, Third-Party Delivery, Open API Initiative and Security Best Practices. “We’re really excited about our growth, especially with restaurants, which make up the majority of our membership,” said Angela Diffly, RTN co-founder. “Even more critical, these restaurant members are embracing RTN best practices, technical guidance and industry standards. This means we’re affecting real, tangible change.”
What Restaurants Are Saying
“RTN has created a collaborative platform that helps restaurant technology executives succeed in the digitally disruptive age in which we live,” commented Wade Allen, SVP, CDO/CIO of Brinker International (www.brinker.com) and RTN Board member. “The cooperative output created by the RTN workgroups will dramatically simplify and improve not only our business, but the restaurant business as a whole.”
“We’re looking forward to contributing to RTN, and embracing the standards and technical guidance the workgroups produce,” commented Gagan Sinha, senior director, IT retail store systems at Dunkin’ Brands (www.dunkinbrands.com) and RTN Board member. “It’s exciting to be part of a community that’s shaping technology for future generations of restaurants.”
“You can’t beat the power of collaboration – with more than 60 restaurant groups and 40+ technology partners, the Restaurant Technology Network is setting the standard for the industry across every major technology-driven dimension. The question is not, ‘Why should I join?’ but ’How can you afford not to?’” commented Sherif Mityas, Chief Experience Officer at TGI Friday’s (www.tgifridays.com) and RTN Board member.
“RTN is not just another restaurant technology group,” commented Chris Andrews, CIO of Smoothie King (www.smoothieking.com) and RTN Board member. “Influential leaders from some top brands and vendors are working to standardize our industry and make a lasting impact on our vertical. If you aren’t involved, what are you waiting for?”
RTN Workgroup Progress
RTN workgroups have averaged 24 members per session, and participants have contributed 4,500 volunteer hours from March - December 2019. Here are some workgroup updates:
• Buyer’s Guide & Standard RFPs: standardized definitions; identified integration business requirements; defining RFP 101 best practices
• Third-Party Delivery: identified business requirements, partners, systems & scope of integrations; listed key data for system communications; developing industry standard for
menu sync
• Open API Initiative: developed key tenants for industry-wide open API framework; built data dictionary; developing best practices for open APIs
• Security Best Practices: identified key data restaurants should catalog, track & control
Restaurants & RTN Membership: Join Today
RTN is a place where restaurants can have a collective voice that’s stronger than any one alone. All we ask is your time, participation and expertise. In exchange, you and your organization will have access to the workgroups and workgroup content as it is published. To learn more, visit the RTN website or contact your account representative for Hospitality Technology. https://tinayurl.com/RTN-Supplier-Membership