In a sector where seamless digital experiences have become the norm, quick service restaurants (QSR) face rising pressure to meet the demands of increasingly connected customers.
According to Simon Revelman, Chief Information Officer at Craveable Brands — the parent company of Oporto, Red Rooster, Chicken Treat and Chargrill Charlie’s — the challenge is more than a matter of adding digital ordering or mobile app features.
Rather, it’s about overhauling the underlying infrastructure to enable agility, reliability and long‑term cost efficiency across more than its 580 restaurants nationwide.
Modern Challenges for QSR Brands
“The QSR industry has faced growing pressure to keep pace with digital-first consumer behaviour. This includes increasing demand for seamless online ordering, real-time delivery tracking, mobile engagement, and consistent in-store connectivity,” Revelman told RetailBiz.
“Legacy systems often weren’t built for this level of demand, leading to gaps in performance, limited scalability, and challenges with integrating modern platforms.”
Revelman explained that unreliable connectivity could prolong ordering and disrupt deliveries, frustrating customers and staff alike.
Moreover, internal IT teams felt the strain of supporting a dispersed franchise network, grappling with rising service requests and a lack of visibility across sites.
Building a Stronger Foundation
To address these pain points, Craveable Brands partnered with Nexon Asia Pacific (Nexon) and Cisco Meraki to implement a cloud‑managed networking solution.
“Craveable’s transformation began with the goal of building a modern, reliable and scalable technology infrastructure to support over 580 restaurants across Australia,” Revelman explained.
“The key priorities were improving network reliability, reducing unpredictable IT costs, increasing security, and enabling better support to franchisees.”
One notable win was tackling the cost and complexity of traditional 4G backups.
“Previously, 4G backup solutions resulted in unpredictable and sometimes significant costs for franchisees,” he said.
“By deploying a centrally managed cloud network with integrated failover, Craveable eliminated the need for costly 4G services.”
The new model offered franchisees greater cost predictability, enhanced site visibility, and higher operational uptime.
Security as a Cornerstone
With cybersecurity threats increasing across industries, Revelman emphasised that security became a central consideration.
The shift to Cisco Meraki’s cloud‑managed infrastructure introduced end‑to‑end encryption, intrusion prevention, and unified policy enforcement across all stores.
“This greatly reduced the risk of cyber threats, while ensuring compliance with industry standards. Security is now embedded in the network,” Revelman recalled.
Another area of focus was support as site‑level issues previously required internal escalation, resulting in additional delays for staff and customers.
Under the new model, stores can connect directly with Nexon support, creating a three‑way conversation between Craveable Brands, Nexon, and franchisees.
According to Revelman, “This has resulted in faster resolution times, less disruption to operations, and more efficient use of internal resources.”
Balancing Innovation and Cost‑Efficiency
Throughout the project, Revelman said that cost efficiency remained a guiding principle.
“By selecting scalable, cloud-based technologies and working with Nexon to bundle services under a predictable monthly model, Craveable was able to avoid large upfront investments,” Revelman said.
“The result was improved capability across the network without increasing the financial burden on franchisees.”
Future‑Ready Infrastructure for a Competitive Market
Looking ahead, Craveable Brands is focused on making its infrastructure future‑ready, particularly one that supports traditional and digital sales, AI‑driven insights, advanced analytics, and highly personalised customer engagement.
According to Revelman, the role of a trusted strategic partner like Nexon is pivotal.
“Nexon’s role as a strategic partner is critical in helping Craveable adapt quickly to change, test new innovations, and scale technology in a way that aligns with both business and franchisee needs,” Revelman shared.
“It’s a partnership built on trust, agility, and shared outcomes.”