MenuDrive, the Leading Commission-Free Restaurant Online Ordering System, Announces a New VP of Engineering

The management team at MenuDrive, a leading commission-free restaurant online ordering system, is pleased to announce the hiring of Uday Subbarayan as VP of Engineering.

Subbarayan has been a founder or founding member of three startups: Elastic Beam (API security using AI/ML, acquired by Ping Identity), Sonoa/Apigee (API gateway, acquired by Google) and Ciespace (SaaS, acquired by ESI). The owner of nine US patents, he has been an innovator in global software development for 23 years.

Under his leadership, the MenuDrive Engineering, DevOps and QA teams will execute an ambitious product roadmap focused on expansion. New features will include integrated social media marketing, an enhanced online menu builder and more dynamic email marketing, all optimized for ease of use. MenuDrive will also expand globally, starting with the Q1 rollout of MeñuDrive Mexico.

Subbarayan will also oversee engineering for Lavu, the parent company of MenuDrive. Lavu, the mobile restaurant POS used in 98 countries, has a similarly ambitious roadmap with plans for expanded third-party delivery integrations, a prioritization of contactless and low-contact payment options, and off-premise reporting and management enhancements.

"Uday has an almost intrinsic understanding of what SaaS products need," Saleem S. Khatri, CEO of MenuDrive and Lavu, said. "I say ?almost' because to call it entirely intrinsic would undermine the amount of technical expertise required to have that understanding, launch startups that address existing or even anticipated needs, and then scale those startups for hypergrowth."

"As online ordering continues its transition from an ancillary revenue stream to an essential component of restaurants' business models, we're putting our resources toward providing the most robust solution there is," said Hilary Wainwright, Director of Product. "We made great strides in 2020, providing a more streamlined, responsive user experience for both merchants and restaurant customers. In 2021, we're doubling down on our goal to offer restaurants an all-in-one online ordering, delivery and marketing SaaS platform. We're thrilled to have Uday join the team to lead us further in that direction."

The Engineering and Product teams launched their first product release of 2021 on January 27. Highlights included new SMS text messages to notify restaurant customers when their orders are ready, restaurant schema markup for improved search engine optimization for MenuDrive restaurants, and access to online restaurant storefront design templates. More information can be found on the MenuDrive blog.

For more information about MenuDrive, please visit https://www.menudrive.com. Restaurants can sign up for a 14-day free trial at https://orderstart.com/self_signon/.

About MenuDrive:

MenuDrive is a restaurant online ordering solution that combines ordering, delivery, marketing and analytics. Founded in 2009 and acquired by Lavu POS in 2019, it now helps thousands of restaurants generate millions in profits. MenuDrive became an integral part of many restaurants' business models during the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing restaurants to pivot to online ordering and delivery without the commission fees affiliated with third-party delivery apps. Its features include customizable online storefront templates, email marketing, coupons, loyalty and customer data.