Oracle Food and Beverage Virtual Connect is back and better than ever. After a successful November event exploring how restaurants can recover and rebound after an unpredictable year, we're gathering again (virtually) to discuss how restaurateurs are refocusing their strategies to accelerate growth through concept expansion including ghost kitchens and virtual brands, better customer journeys from drive-thru to curbside and loyalty programs that bring guests back to the table.

Virtual Connect is a unique event bringing together restaurateurs from all over the world and industry experts in sessions designed to inform and educate on how to stay on the cutting edge of our ever-changing industry. Whether you attended our fall event, or this is your first Virtual Connect, here are our top three reasons to join Virtual Connect.

Reason 1: Executive keynote Q&A and customer panel

On the 27th of April, we will kick off the event with a special keynote address from Oracle Food and Beverage SVP and GM Simon de Montfort Walker and vice president of strategy Chris Adams. Simon and Chris will discuss why connecting every guest interaction to back of house should be a focus for restaurateurs in 2021 and how our roadmap enables the key initiative. Customer panels will follow the same day with experts in the F&B space sharing insights on how they've modified their approach to align to new customer journeys and their expectation for the future of dining.

Executive keynote – Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa Executive Customer Panel

Gagan Sinha, senior vice president of restaurant Technology at Inspire Brands, who recently acquired Dunkin Donuts, will join Mark Smith, chief information officer at SSP, a leading hospitality provider for food travel across Europe, and Ralph Marshall, vice president of technology EMEA for Starbucks Coffee Company
in hosting our Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa Executive Customer Panel. This discussion will center on how they've adapted to new customer journey models, the restaurant technology making it possible to connect those journeys to back of house for highly efficient kitchens, and the growing importance of information transparency for consumers.

Executive keynote – Asia Pacific Executive Customer Panel

Mike Palmer, operations director at Outback Steakhouse, will join Brad Dight, general manager, technology at Minor DKL Food Group and Patrick Branley, director of technology at Pizza Hut Australia in hosting our Asia Pacific Executive Customer Panel, where they will discuss how cloud POS technology is maximizing staff efficiency and how they' navigating aggregators, loyalty and the long-term shift to mobile interactions.

Register for the keynote session that suits your schedule best: Register for April 27 | 11AM ET Americas & EMEA Opening Session | Register for April 27 | 7PM ET APAC Opening Session . Registering for either keynote session will also give you access to all our on-demand Power Sessions.

Reason 2: Customer breakout sessions and panel discussions

Day two of the agenda focuses on customer-led breakout sessions and solution expert topics where customer executives get together and talk openly about challenges, opportunities and solutions. Here's a look at the full agenda of speakers for April 28th and 29th:

  • Guest engagement: Bringing guests back to the table with Chad MacKay, CEO, Fire and Vine Hospitality Group and Tim Brown, vice president, solution engineering, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Ghost kitchens and virtual brands: Diversifying with Simphony with Daniel Baven, owner, Noah's Kitchen and Dorothy Creamer, senior research analyst, hospitality and travel digital transformation strategies, IDC
  • Personalizing quick service: Serving up a unique brand experience with Amer Wahab, chief operations officer, Kettleman's and Emil Davityan, co-founder, CEO, Bluedot
  • Omnichannel customer engagement: Building the ultimate connected experience with Anthony Sabga-Aboud, director, Global Brands Limited, Carlos Ramos, senior manager, Oracle Food and Beverage, and James Daleen, AppSuite, chairman and CEO
  • Mobile ordering on- and off-premises with Pete Dalby, senior solution director, solution engineering, Oracle Food and Beverage and Henrik Hessbo, principle solution engineer, solution engineering, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Increasing check spend with Oracle Data Science with Paul Armstrong, vice president, development, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Contactless interactions: Convergence of loyalty and payments with Shyam Rao, founder and CEO, Punchh and Mark James, master solution principal, solution engineering, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Success planning: Maximizing your Oracle investment with Tony De Salvo, COO, Fortney Hospitality Group and Amy Bourgon, senior cloud success manager, Oracle Food and Beverage

Reason 3: 15-minute Power Sessions

We've structured the Power Sessions for our spring event to cover a variety of technical topics business owners will need to know looking ahead to 2021. Our 15-minute powers sessions will be available on April 29 at 12 PM ET and cover a variety of topics including:

  • Faster implementations: Accelerating your time to value with Prasad Vemuri, senior director, global implementation services, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Advanced managed services: Expanding your team, talent, and technical expertise with Geoff Murtaugh, vice president, global consulting, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Quenching your real-time data thirst with Paul Armstrong, vice president, food and beverage development, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Curbside and delivery kitchen operations: Faster, error-free, online order fulfillment with Stu Bendall, senior manager, solution engineering, EMEA & JAPAC, Oracle Food and Beverage, Brian Burger, director, solution engineering, North America, Oracle Food and Beverage, and Ed Rothenberg, senior solution engineering, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Ghost kitchens and virtual brands: Essential technology and tools with Oana Busuioceanu, manager, solution engineering, Oracle Food and Beverage, and John Clubb, senior sales consultant, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • 360 Fan Experience: Smarter, safer, game-day strategies with Bret Hartley, senior solutions engineer, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Get ready for outdoor dining with John Nicewick, senior global director, product strategy, Oracle Cloud and Hardware
  • Faster, smarter integrations: 3 use cases from Oracle partners with Keshav Kiran, senior director, global strategic partnerships, Oracle Food and Beverage
  • Eat, stay, play: how to increase F&B revenue in your hotel or casino with Courtney Walton, senior solutions manager, Oracle Hospitality, Jessica Wilson, solution engineer, Oracle Hospitality, and George Zhang, senior solutions engineer, Oracle Hospitality

Special thanks to our sponsors for this event:

  • Platinum sponsor – Epson
  • Gold sponsors – Appsuite, Bluedot, Punchh
  • Silver sponsors – DTiO, Ubamarket, Yellow Dog

Join the keynote session that best suits your schedule: Register for April 27 | 11AM ET Americas & EMEA Opening Session | Register for April 27 | 7PM ET APAC Opening Session
Reserve Your Seat Today

We hope you can join us next month. In the meantime, don't hesitate to connect with us if you need assistance opening new sales channels, optimizing process for increased off-premises operations, or if you are interested in learning more about our exclusive One for One offer. Reach us directly by phone in the US: +1 866-287-4736; UK: +44 207 5626 827; AU: 1300 366 386; LAD: 52 559 178 3146) | chat | or request a call back.

About Oracle Hospitality

Oracle Hospitality brings more than 45 years of experience in providing technology solutions to independent hoteliers, global and regional chains, gaming, and cruise lines. Our hardware, software, and services enable customers to act on rich data insights that deliver personalized guest experiences, maximize profitability, and encourage loyalty. Cloud-based, mobile-enabled, with open APIs, Oracle's OPERA Cloud property management and distribution, Simphony point-of-sale, reporting and analytics, and Nor1 upsell solutions accelerate innovation, increase revenue, lower IT cost, and maximize operating efficiency. To learn more, please visit www.oracle.com/Hospitality.

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