"A New Meeting Frequency" discusses near-field communication (NFC) and its gaining popularity with the meeting and event planning industry. This form of communication enables smart devices to have communication between each other; one acts as the writer, the other as the reader. According to meeting tech consultant Corbin Ball, "NFC marks the next step toward a cashless and paperless society".  Barclaycard and Chase, just to name a few, have adopted ISIS Mobile Wallet which lets customers make payments and collect rewards. "Industry professionals are beginning to see adoption in interactive events and business-to-customer trade shows", and are present in some current NFC applications. Contactless payment, automated ticketing, social networking, exchange of information (maps, business cards), registration, attendance access and control are some of the major ways this technology is utilized presently in the industry. Usage is slowly on the rise, particularly with regard to corporate networking events, and potential is huge.  NFC technology is extremely innovative, saves money and can be a great marketing tool.

Author Michael Kasavana's article discusses the advancement and prevalence of mobile technology applications with regard to the hospitality industry.  According to him, "the common goals of mobile technology implementation are acceleration of guest traffic, heightened interactivity, promotion and sales of goods and services, and gathering of feedback relative to the guest's experience". Mobile and proximity marketing techniques are gaining in popularity and in some cases (Buffalo Wild Wings) are a large factor in the company's success. Their mobile marketing campaign was deemed a huge success due to large numbers of repeat customers, improved attendance at special events, and higher sales revenue. Mobile marketing has proven extremely influential in attracting new customers and creating brand loyalty. This marketing method can really make the difference in one company having a competitive advantage over another. Kasavana also advises restaurant and hotel owners to follow some best management practices guidelines. These include: "creation of a mobile-optimized website with simple navigation tools; apply user-friendly, intuitive, and logical lead-through processes; sponsor video (YouTube), social (Facebook), and mobile (LBS) content; employ opt-in marketing campaigns that encourage customer engagement; provide instant rewards, discounts, and incentives to qualified clientele". Mobile technology applications are definitely the wave of the future in the hospitality industry and "getting in on the ground floor" is an excellent opportunity for business growth.

"View From  the Top" discusses the new 360-degree camera technology which is helping MGM Resorts and the gaming industry to increase efficiency in their surveillance departments.  These cameras have no blind spots and provide a fish-eye view of the whole casino floor. "It offers situational awareness of the entire floor, and permits the operator to zoom in with other cameras where needed," according to Oncam Grandeye's director of global sales. This company is considered to be a leader in 360-degree technology. The article also discusses a complete solution for surveillance operations. This new technology coupled with more traditional megapixel cameras provide video history of given subjects entering or leaving the property or parking garage (for the entire month). Suspects can even be tracked "back in time" if need be with use of the 360-degree images and software. License-plate recognition software aids in tracking a suspect even if they leave the property. Many thieves end up at another MGM property (there are 10) not realizing their image has been sent out to all of the properties, so if they aren't caught at one, they will be at another. Ticket thieves for slot machines are caught when they try to cash out at kiosks, since their image is on surveillance. Through use of creating triggers in the software, players-club card thieves are caught by patterns and locations of their bets. "We'll mine data for standard deviations, wins that don't look right", says director of surveillance. 360-degree camera technology is one of the most valuable tools in aiding the surveillance operations for the gaming industry.

Breadcrumb, the iPad POS system, and its impact on daily operations are discussed in this article. This POS system has sped up daily operations and made them less difficult for restaurant staff. An upgrade has been released and it was formed by "conversations with hundreds of merchants and insights from millions of restaurant, bar, and cafe transactions". The new version offers some very helpful features such as smart swipe, less keystrokes for PIN-based access to terminals, single touch order modifications, and splitting checks has been simplified. Breadcrumb 1.2 is really helping restaurants to make the dining experience seamless and hassle-free for customers and employees.

Domino's information technology as a huge competitive advantage for franchise owners is discussed in this article. Kevin Vasconi is the proud chief information officer of their e-commerce platform. "Our iPhone, Android, and KindleFire apps are all number one or two in their respective categories", according to Vasconi. The e-commerce platform provides "capacity on demand" to accomodate the increasing amount of customers using mobile/online ordering. An example is the e-commerce platform taking orders on a night when the store is ultra-busy. Vasconi also touches upon new upcoming technology projects such as digital wallets and payments, and responsive web design. He feels that these technologies "have a lot of promise to deliver tangible value for the customer". Overall, user-friendly interfaces are present no matter which way a customer tries to order, and this ultimately helps to ensure good e-commerce.

This article discusses the importance of restaurants protecting their systems and data from a security breach. This is a major issue for the food and beverage industry. According to a data security research and investigation firm, "the food and beverage industry accounted for 57% of all data breaches it investigated last year." This finding was a 44% increase from the previous year. Author Barbara King notes important risk management measures for owners and managers. Using strong passwords and non-identifying network web names are simple preventative measures. A few more include firewalls and installation of antivirus software. These must be kept updated to be effective, though.  Another preventative measure she discusses is logging all remote access and utilizing two forms of user verification for access points which are considered higher risk. Still other measures include segmenting the network cardholder data environment so it will not be a target. Finally, one of the most important security measures is complying with PCI DSS. This is essential for protecting payment data from customers and securing networks. This standard also gives important guidelines for proper handling of such data. In the end, these are all things we must do to keep and protect a loyal customer base.

This article discusses a newly-formed partnership between The Big Salad and WhenToManage. WhenToManage is considered a pioneer for hospitality cloud-based software solutions. The Big Salad formed this partnership with them for their web-based inventory management software. WhenToManage is able to direct its efforts to all of the requirements for The Big Salad, and is designed "to make tedious management tasks simple and accurate". The CEO of The Big Salad anticipates being able to spend more face time with customers and FOH  since he won't have to stay in his office doing work. Yield management of items used in batch recipes/butchering, and analysis of usage trends are just a few customizable options WhenToManage offers. It can even be a complete operations package when coupled with its POS intelligence and employee scheduling software. Since all operational data from each location can be viewed on one dashboard, this software will be a huge aid to companies focusing on integrating and simplifying operations for their franchises.