DATA & CYBERSECURITY
D ata has emerged as one of the restaurant industry’s most valuable assets, yet many operators struggle to harness its full poten- tial. Today’s restaurants generate massive volumes of information — from transaction details and in- ventory levels to labor costs and customer prefer- ences — yet turning that data into actionable in- sights remains a significant challenge. With more data to manage — and more tools and teams that need access to it — the need for seamless, secure data management has never been greater. That fact is not lost on restaurant operators in Na- tion’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Business re- search, with more people saying data management was a priority this year. Nearly a third of operators (32%) said it was a key investment priority this year, up from 26% a year earlier. The explosion of AI has also brought new import- ance to the quality and usability of data. Expect operators to place new importance on their data strategy in the coming years as they determine what information should be collected, who should have access to it, how to share it securely across the organization, and, critically, how to turn it into actionable real-world strategy.
52% of restaurant operators said data analysis is the AI use case they’re more interested in adopting 68+32 48+52 32 % 52 %
32% of operators said they plan to invest in data management and security this year, up from 26% a year earlier
DATABASE
SOLAR-SYSTEM
MONEY-BILL-WAVE-ALT
40 %
84 %
68 %
say better data analysis and reporting is a top use case for AI
of operators say they plan to increase their investment in AI in the next year
of operators express at least moderate concern about the security of their transaction and customer data
Source: Nation’s Restaurant News / Restaurant Business research
38 | FSTEC 2026
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