What Dataworks does

DataWorks Inc. is a privately held, founder-led software company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Bonita Springs, Florida, that develops and sells NeXT, an enterprise back-office procurement and inventory management system targeting the hospitality, leisure, and entertainment industries. The platform serves hotels, resorts, casinos, amusement parks, stadiums, museums, zoos, and multi-site food & beverage and specialty retail operators, with named enterprise customers including The Ritz-Carlton (20 properties), Ameristar Casinos (six U.S. properties), Pebble Beach Resorts (customer since 1997), Sodexo's Re:sourxe healthcare retail initiative, and Aruba Marriott. Vertical focus is reinforced by 25+ years of accumulated domain expertise and deep multi-property, multi-company, multi-currency, and multi-language support.

NeXT is built on a SQL Server database with a hub-and-spoke architecture and a strongly normalized data model of 600+ entities and 5,000+ relationships, organized into a modular product suite including core purchasing and inventory, plus add-on modules for Suggested Orders, Open-to-Buy/Budgeting, Retail Markdown Engine, Recipe and Food & Beverage management, EDI Integration, and a real-time General Ledger interface. The company's proprietary SmartSpoke technology is a fourth-generation, FTPS-based, PCI-compliant POS interface that delivers two-way, real-time data exchange with 20+ point-of-sale systems including MICROS, Microsoft Dynamics RMS, Oracle Simphony II, InfoGenesis, SkyWire, SpaSoft, PAR Springer-Miller, ResortSuite, HSI, Siriusware, Gateway Ticketing, and Volante. Successive releases (NeXT 3 SandFlea in 2007, version 5 in 2008, version 6 in 2009, version 8.2 in 2012, and version 8.8 in 2013) demonstrate sustained R&D output.

DataWorks monetizes through a mix of on-premises perpetual licenses, hosted SaaS subscriptions via its DataWorks Cloud / MyDataWorks platform with monthly fees and per-planner add-ons, separately licensed modules, and recurring annual maintenance and support fees, complemented by implementation, training, and consulting professional services. Distribution is enterprise-led direct sales with substantial channel support from POS vendors that recommend DataWorks to their customer bases, supplemented by HITEC trade show presence, content marketing, webinars, and an online shop. The company has not raised external venture capital and remains under long-tenured founder/CEO Mark Cecil's ownership.

Name

Dataworks

Legal name

DataWorks Inc.

Website

https://dataworksinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DataWorks Inc. provides NeXT, an enterprise back-office procurement and inventory management system for the hospitality, leisure, and entertainment industries, integrating bi-directionally with 20+ POS systems to serve hotels, resorts, casinos, amusement parks, and healthcare retail operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Enterprise Inventory Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Vendor Master Data Management & Onboarding (BPAAAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Data Governance Platforms (Policies, Stewardship, Workflows) (HDAEADAB)

Keywords

• Inventory management software
• Hospitality procurement system
• POS integration software
• Food beverage inventory
• Retail inventory control

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonita Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses (On-Premises): Perpetual license model for on-premises installation of NeXT software. Customer purchases license and runs software on their own infrastructure or through local server/terminal server environment.
2. SaaS/Hosted Subscription: Software as a Service subscription model with pay-as-you-go licensing. Monthly subscription fees for hosted users accessing DataWorks system via Client Cloud Portal. Additional per planner/month fees for modules like Budgeting.
3. Professional Services: Training, implementation, and consulting services for software deployment, data migration from legacy ARMS systems, and integration setup. Separate from software maintenance fees.
4. Module Add-ons: Separate modules including General Ledger Interface, Budgeting Module ($5,000), and Report Export Module licensed separately from core application.
5. Maintenance and Support: Annual maintenance fees apply for software updates, support, and access to customer portal. License agreements and maintenance fees required for hosted/SaaS clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

DataWorks develops NeXT, an enterprise back-office procurement and inventory management software system for the hospitality, entertainment, and food & beverage industries. The platform covers purchasing, inventory control, sales analysis, barcode management, recipe and food costing, retail markdown optimization, and automated replenishment, with bi-directional real-time integrations to 20+ point-of-sale systems via proprietary SmartSpoke technology. The software is sold as a perpetual on-premises license, as separately priced add-on modules, or delivered as a hosted SaaS subscription through DataWorks Cloud.

Product overview

DataWorks offers NeXT, a modular enterprise back-office procurement and inventory management system. The core NeXT platform provides purchasing, inventory, sales analysis, and bar-coding for retail and food & beverage operations. Customers can select from targeted modules including SmartSpoke (POS interface), Open-to-Buy (budgeting), Suggested Orders (replenishment), Retail Markdown Engine, EDI Integration, Recipe Sub-system, and General Ledger Interface. Deployment options include traditional on-premises installation or hosted cloud delivery via DataWorks Cloud/MyDataWorks SaaS platform. The system is designed for the hospitality and entertainment industries including amusement parks, casinos, hospitals, resorts, and zoos.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NeXT: Flagship enterprise back-office inventory management software offering purchasing, inventory, sales, and bar-coding for retail and food & beverage management.
• SmartSpoke
• DataWorks Cloud

Products and services

• NeXT Flagship enterprise back-office procurement and inventory management software offering purchasing, inventory control, sales analysis, and bar-coding for retail and food & beverage management. Supports multi-company, multi-language and multi-currency operations for single properties up to enterprise-wide multi-site deployments, with dedicated modules for budgeting, suggested orders, EDI, retail markdowns, recipes, and GL integration.
• SmartSpoke POS Interface Fourth-generation point-of-sale interface technology sold as a separate add-on for NeXT customers. Uses FTPS protocol to actively pull inventory down from the DataWorks hub and push sales and customer data up to headquarters, eliminating the need for open FTP/communication ports on the POS side while maintaining PCI compliance.
• DataWorks Cloud (MyDataWorks) Hosted SaaS deployment option for the NeXT platform with pay-as-you-go monthly subscription licensing. Allows customers to access the DataWorks system from any high-speed Internet connection via the Client Cloud Portal, with additional per planner/month fees for modules such as Budgeting.
• NeXT Open-to-Buy / Budgeting Module Separately licensed add-on module combining top-down budgeting with bottom-up Open-to-Buy planning. Tracks Begin-of-Period On-Hand, Markdowns, Shrink, On-Orders, Pending Orders and Open-to-Buy for retail merchandise buying plans. Sold separately from the core NeXT application.
• NeXT Suggested Orders Module Add-on module that automates and accelerates re-orders by analyzing sales trends, determining vendor lead time, examining seasonal and weekly trends by classification, and suggesting orders based on safety stock, order frequency and stock plans.
• NeXT Retail Markdown Engine Query-based add-on tool that identifies products for markdown based on more than 30 data points (including price, age and sell-through) and presents them on a review screen so users can apply permanent or temporary markdowns to slow movers.
• NeXT EDI Integration Module Add-on module for Electronic Data Interchange with vendor catalogs, purchase orders and invoices. Supports Sysco 832 EDI order guide import and automatically manages vendor price changes, eliminating manual vendor data entry.
• NeXT Recipe Sub-system Add-on food and beverage module supporting recipes with multiple portions, volume unit equivalents, weight-to-volume density conversions, portion calculations, tare weight for portions, yields and catch weight handling. Used for recipe costing, menu item pricing and food-cost analysis.
• NeXT General Ledger Interface Separately licensed add-on module that posts real-time journal entries for inventory asset changes, including debits and credits for Sales, Receiving, RTVs, Transfers and Physical Inventories, and supports cross-company transfers with dual general journal entry. Eliminates end-of-month accruals and ties NeXT tightly to corporate accounting systems.
• Managed Services Professional services offering for DataWorks customers, covering implementation, training, data migration (for example from legacy ARMS systems), POS and GL integration setup, and ongoing support through the customer portal. Priced separately from software licensing and maintenance fees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Faster purchase order input with custom field layouts, sort and re-number functionality, and save more productivity features
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration18 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SkyWirecoreTechnology or Integration · 14 April 2015Strategic partnership creating bi-directional, real-time JSON-based integration between SkyWire POS and DataWorks NeXT inventory management. Joint development brokered by customer seeking integrated hospitality solution. SkyWire POS receives menu items and prices from DataWorks; DataWorks receives sales info, covers, meal periods, modifiers. Eliminates double data entry for enterprise operators with up to 40+ properties.
• Oracle Hospitality (Simphony II)coreTechnology or Integration · 16 March 2015Two-way, real-time interface to Oracle Hospitality's Simphony II Point of Sale System for on-property deployments. First live implementation at five-star resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Uses low-level SQL integration approach for fastest and most powerful MICROS-family integration to date. Manages menu items, prices, and inventory for retail, spa, bar, and dining venues.
• Microsoft Dynamics RMScoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration between NeXT and Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System, enabling NeXT to serve as purchasing, inventory operations, and customer management headquarters for RMS users. Partnership enables dealers and customers to expand RMS beyond 20-store limitation.
• PAR Springer-Miller Systems (SpaSoft)coreTechnology or IntegrationReal-time interface between NeXT 3.0 and SpaSoft 3.0.5.20 certified at Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. Inventory items flow from DataWorks to SpaSoft automatically. All POS transactions report back to DataWorks. Uses web services, SOAP, and XML technologies.
• MICROS (9700, Simphony)coreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing interface relationships with MICROS POS systems including 8700, 3700, 9700, and Simphony I generations. Full integration to MICROS 9700 planned. Simphony II integration delivered in 2015.
• SodexocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership for Sodexo's Re:sourxe North American healthcare retail initiative. DataWorks NeXT selected as inventory control software for hospital retail operations platform providing full-service retail consumer engagement.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Agilysys: Agilysys provides hospitality-focused POS, inventory, and procurement software (including the InfoGenesis POS that DataWorks integrates with). Targets the same resort, hotel, casino, and entertainment verticals with overlapping inventory management and POS capabilities.
• BirchStreet Systems: BirchStreet provides procurement and inventory management software purpose-built for the hospitality industry. Competes directly with DataWorks NeXT in hotels, resorts, and casinos on P2P procurement workflows, vendor management, and multi-property inventory control.

Broad incumbents

• Coupa Software: Cloud-based procurement and spend management platform. While not hospitality-specific, Coupa competes for enterprise procurement budgets that could otherwise fund DataWorks deployments, particularly at large multi-property operators seeking unified procurement platforms.
• Oracle Hospitality (MICROS): Oracle's hospitality division (formerly MICROS) provides enterprise POS and hotel property management systems. While Oracle is also a DataWorks integration partner, it competes broadly in the same hospitality software market with deeper resources and broader product suites that can bundle inventory functionality.
• Infor Hospitality: Infor HMS (Hospitality Management Solution) and SunSystems provide enterprise ERP including hospitality-specific inventory and procurement. Competes with DataWorks at larger enterprise customers seeking full ERP suites with integrated inventory modules.

Emerging players

• MarketMan: Cloud-based inventory and procurement platform for restaurants and hospitality operators. Competes with DataWorks in F&B inventory management, recipe costing, and vendor management, particularly for smaller multi-unit operators.
• Restaurant365: Cloud-native restaurant management platform including inventory, procurement, and POS for the food and beverage segment. While focused on standalone restaurants rather than multi-property resorts, it represents a modern SaaS challenger to DataWorks's F&B capabilities.
• BlueCart: Procurement and inventory management platform for restaurants and hospitality. Overlaps with DataWorks NeXT's purchasing, vendor management, and order automation capabilities, primarily targeting small to mid-market operators.
• Toast: Restaurant POS and management platform with integrated inventory and procurement modules. Competes with DataWorks for F&B inventory management at smaller hospitality and restaurant operators, with a modern cloud-native architecture and aggressive growth.

Regional players

• HotSOS (Hotelligence Hospitality Operations Solutions): Hospitality operations management platform including inventory and procurement workflows for hotels and resorts. Provides similar back-office functionality to DataWorks with focus on operations, maintenance, and guest services integration.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DataWorksNeXT
• Xx.com/DataWorksIncCom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dataworks