is when it comes time to do larger upgrades, or migrate systems to new servers, the migration/implementation time could be multiplied 2-10 times just because you haven’t kept your systems up to date.

In situations where you do have a valid good warranty from a recommended vendor, you can often have hardware replaced under warranty by the next business day, minimizing downtime.

Equipment Age – They need to purchase new equipment, since replacement parts aren’t available anymore, and the equipment’s warranty has expired.

Consumer Grade Equipment – Some IT Solution providers, and/or IT staff feel they can build their own servers, or purchase off-the-shelf consumer grade equipment for business use.

Vendor Warranty – We are called in to resolve an issue on a new server environment, but it turns out the equipment just came off warranty after 3 months.

Security and critical updates need to be applied urgently when possible. Upgrades or updates that increase features, functionalities, and correct software flaws are also important, but not as important as security/critical updates.

Hardware should be upgraded when either the equipment is coming off warranty, or when you need to upgrade for performance/capacity reasons.

Technology has enabled waste management to ensure environmental and human health protection while at the same time handling complex materials, increasing recycling, producing energy and virtually eliminating landfills in some countries.

Robotics are already widely present in sorting material facilities

The internet allows continuous real-time tracking of waste across countries

Hydraulic collection systems are increasingly being introduced in new buildings to avoid bins on the road.

Plant management, emission monitoring, chemical/biological parameters within plants

These new technologies are creating vast amounts of data. The data allows us to understand the movement not just of waste but of people – how they behave and what products and materials they are buying and will turn into waste.

predict the future and plan waste collection, the location of bins on the streets, the amount of plant we need, with some anticipation.

It also allows producers of waste to intervene to reduce their waste outputs

Add to this the use of artificial intelligence and blockchain computing – technologies that allow the multiplication of the access and transmission of intelligence and its automation. How does this work in practice?

First, data collection will be faster and simpler; then automated trend and performance analysis allows the user to see anomalies immediately; finally, this informs employee behaviour and decisions and allows immediate corrective actions.

Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, said: "I am pleased the City of London has called a halt to this scheme, but questions need to be asked about how such a blatant attack on people's privacy was able to occur in the first place.

there’s a problem with this process. There are a ton of factors that contribute to sales growth or regression that simply looking at last year’s sales doesn’t give insight into. 

Things like the weather, your restaurant’s location, holidays and even local or international events can have a big effect on your sales. 

Whether it’s sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy or warmer than usual, consumers are drawn to certain foods and drinks based on the conditions outside. Based on the food and beverages a restaurant serves, the weather will influence how many customers a restaurant serves on any given day. 

it lets you know how many sales you can expect in the future based on that historical sales and weather data. 

A study from the World Resources Institute found that for every dollar a restaurant invests into reducing their food waste, they save seven. That’s a 7x return on investment! 

By using historical sales data and weather conditions to predict how much inventory you actually need to buy to fulfill customer demand. In doing so, restaurants remove the risk of overspending on cost of goods sold (COGS).

Using AI, restaurants can accurately project their sales, inventory and staffing needs for holidays. Instead of guesstimating your sales for events like Saint Patrick’s Day, use artificial intelligence to decipher what (and how much) food and beverages you need to stock up on to fulfill demand.

Your restaurant’s location will also affect sales on holidays, and AI can help you predict foot traffic and walk-in customers based on the same historical sales and weather data. 

For example, if your restaurant or bar is near a basketball arena and your local team is in the finals, you can expect larger crowds of customers who want to watch the game. If you’re not prepared for that spike in customers, that’s effectively missed revenue. 

Rather than guess which menu items attendees prefer, pinpoint your best (and worst) sellers and adjust what you purchase from suppliers accordingly. 

AI can help restaurateurs determine what their promotion includes, which maximizes that promotion’s returns. 

With AI-powered forecasting, businesses in the hospitality industry can plan and make decisions based on previous sales data and analytics in relation to the weather, their business location and so much more. 

it can help you refrain from ordering foods that are going to go bad due to low popularity or seasonal changes. With this knowledge, you won’t have to worry about throwing away extra stock and thus, losing revenue. 

WISK recently updated their bar inventory app to include an analytics feature. In addition to inventory management, beverage costing, and bottle ordering, the app now allows users to forecast sales based on a variety of factors including the weather, events, and holidays.

artificial intelligence is quickly becoming the best tool for increasing sales in the hospitality industry and we must start to embrace it. 

despite resistance from many properties to invest in new technology, we see an increasing amount of guest journey applications coming to the market, from digital check-in/check-out to marketing/upselling solutions.

it was very difficult to really produce an ROI as it related to travel and hospitality. 

Augmented reality requires a “wearable”, which is a major barrier to adoption, even after Facebook's acquisition of Oculus and significant price drops. 

Did the industry want a technology that further distances them from the customer? While that today may be needed during COVID, at what point does “hospitality” and personal communication become relegated to the technology? 

Here in Las Vegas, the footprint of integrated resorts ensures that wayfinding is a very important facility to move the guest from location to location. The volume and frequency of entertainment and dining options also mean that static wayfinding even when well thought out does leave room for improvement. 

In another thoughtful application, property in Las Vegas is combining art and augmented reality to provide a guest room with a 'view' where the physical realities of the actual room may not provide such a facility. In this case, an artistic overlay is applied against a static art piece. The outcome is focused on guest engagement, entertainment, and a point of difference. Although it is the same technology used that could provide reference information.

The pandemic propels the hospitality industry to innovate and offer new and exciting ways for guests' experience. As the industry seeks to upsell, enhance their guest experience and service offerings to stimulate demands, AR becomes an extremely valuable hotel technology during this recovery period. Augmented Reality technology can help solve the hotel industry's challenge in enhancing the physical environment and guest experiences without the costly and physical disruptions to their operations and facilities. With digital transformation and improving operational standards being the go-to recovery plan for the industry, AR could easily disrupt and transform the hotel industry around the world.

First impressions matter. If they’re positive, your guests will likely remember you for a long time. An engaging, interactive virtual tour helps grab your audience’s attention and create a positive first impression.

Virtual tours and interactive media give your guests control over their experience. Every visitor has unique needs, and can interact with the media by zooming in or panning up, down, left and right. Customers love having the freedom to choose what to view

tter exposure of the property GDS would not be cheap at begining stage

it’s no longer about simply providing a guest with a room, but providing them with a seamless experience

Another growing trend is the use of technology to enhance the guests’ stay. Modern guests are increasingly looking for high-tech experiences, and many are willing to forego traditional amenities to get them

the industry has had a dramatic environmental impact, from construction processes to energy and water consumption

keep in mind that sustainability goes beyond environmental management. To truly support long-term sustainable development, companies need to think beyond water and energy-saving methods and consider their impact on economic progress and social development – promoting health and well-being, gender equality, stimulating entrepreneurship and supporting local communities.

We needed a cost-effective, low-upkeep system that is lightweight enough to provide the same responsiveness to island resorts in Asia, as it does to city hotels in Europe for example

“We also wanted a solution that could provide enhanced guest recognition. Our company’s vision is to create Natural Enjoyment for our guests and partners around the world. In Opera cloud, we found a system that ultimately benefits our guests—through recognition and improved operations.”

provide critical business intelligence insights to marketing and revenue management teams that drive decision making from the center and at property level.

At line-up, the Ladies and Gentlemen celebrate stories of exceptional service; share new information from the Mystique CRM database; hear presentations on business success factors, such as the importance of driving customer engagement is presented, and research results from customer engagement surveys. And they discuss the information on the Credo card.