So, in 2012 Sonic got rid of its big heavy-duty data warehouse for a cloud service. The cloud service they chose was called 1010date, which is a cloud based analytic database. Sonic is using its new data and new platform in much the same way as it used to. However the new flexibility does allow Sonic to answer specific questions that franchisees might ask of it, and the company is actually considering giving franchisees access to its data in the next year or two.
The move to the cloud is already paying off. For example, Sonic's operational scorecard, which analyzes data on more than 150 regional markets, now runs quarterly instead of annually, letting the company react faster to changing consumer behavior.
3. Competitive Forces and Challenges.
Porter five forces analysis is a framework to analyze level of competition within an industry. The five forces are: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitutes, and rivalry among firms. Now lets take a look at how Porters five forcers work with Sonic and its industry.
3.1 Threat of New Entrants.
The threat of new entrants in this industry is medium. The initial investment to enter this industry is low but there is strict government regulation when it comes entering this industry. Also the economies of scale are very high and there are already well-established companies in this industry. When it comes to Sonic the threat of new entrants isn't that high. They are one of the only fast food restaurants that do what they do and are very well known for it. Also people do not want to mimic their strategy because they are not succeeding with their "stuck in the middle" business model.
3.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers.
The bargaining power of buyers in this industry is also medium. There are a lot of customers in this industry and they have very many different restaurants to choose from. There are not a lot of high costs when it comes from choosing one restaurant to another.
