Dublin software firm Wia seals UK restaurant deal with BigDish
DUBLIN-BASED software firm Wia Technologies has inked a partnership with UK food technology company BigDish that will see the Irish venture’s platform – which monitors building capacity in real time – rolled out across restaurants in the UK.
It will enable the restaurants to adhere to rules including those for social distancing in the Covid environment, according to BigDish.
BigDish operates a yield management platform for restaurants that was in use in 650 outlets in the UK before the pandemic stuck.
“When restaurants reopen, safe dining and physical distancing, will be important for restaurants in order to give confidence to their customers,” said the company.
Wia offers services such as people counting and space utilisation monitoring in buildings.
“By using GDPR-compliant people counting sensors, the Wia solution can monitor capacity in real-time and provide information to ensure physical distancing and appropriate capacities are maintain,” noted BigDish. “Wia’s compliance-focused analytics also help businesses identify when certain key metrics fall below the limits set within definable guidelines, including those set by the governments regarding Covid-19.”
Wia Technologies was founded and is headed by Northern Ireland native Conall Laverty.
He was named by Forbes in its ‘30 under 30’ list of technology entrepreneurs in 2019.
The company is backed by Enterprise Ireland, the entrepreneur-led Sure Valley Ventures private equity firm and the National Digital Research Centre.
“The suite of tools offered by Wia forms an ideal solution for businesses, including restaurants, now facing the difficult task of trying to allow their employees and customers to return,” said BigDish of the software.
The UK firm said that it’s revamping its technology offering to customers in light of the structural changes that are happening within the food service sector.
“The pandemic has caused significant disruption to the hospitality industry,” it said.
“Over the past several months the company has been developing its strategy in preparing for what the future of the restaurant industry will look like and how best to respond to the needs of restaurants and consumers.”
It added: “The company recognises that the pandemic has also accelerated certain consumer trends and as such has been proactively upgrading its technology platform in order to address the wider needs of restaurants and consumers.”