The eight technology challenges we see most in Scottish leisure and entertainment venues are: peak-time demand, card payment security, guest WiFi, the PSTN switch-off, customer and booking data, staff turnover, missed booking calls, and keeping several sites consistent. They usually share one cause: systems added one at a time, by different suppliers, all on the same network, with nobody looking at the whole picture.
1. Peak-time demand
An office network copes with the same people every day. A venue has to cope with a sold-out gig, a match day or the first day of the school holidays. That's when thousands of phones, card terminals, ticket scanners and cameras compete for the same connection, and it's exactly when nothing can fail.
Best practice: size the connection and WiFi for your busiest event, with automatic failover. See Chapter 2.
2. Card payment security
Cash made up only 9% of UK payments in 2024 (UK Finance, 2025), so a venue that can't take cards can't trade. Tills and card terminals must be protected under PCI DSS (the card industry's security standard), and they shouldn't share a network with guest WiFi.
Best practice: put payment systems on their own protected network. See Chapter 3.
3. Guest WiFi that fails when the venue is full
Customers expect WiFi to work, and many venues rely on it for app-based ordering, digital tickets and social media. WiFi designed for floor area rather than people collapses on the busiest night.
Best practice: design for density, with fair-use limits per guest.
4. The PSTN switch-off
The UK's analogue phone network closes on 31 January 2027. Around 350,000 business premises still hadn't moved by September 2026 (Openreach, via ISPreview). In venues, it isn't just the phones. Older card machines, intruder and fire alarms, lift emergency phones and door entry can all rely on an analogue line.
Best practice: list every line and every device that uses one, and move them before the deadline. Use our free PSTN switch-off check.
5. Customer and booking data
Ticketing, bookings, memberships, parties and mailing lists all hold personal data. Across UK businesses, 43% reported a breach or attack in the last 12 months (Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2026). A breach means reporting duties under UK GDPR as well as lost trust.
Best practice: protect accounts with multi-factor authentication and work towards Cyber Essentials. See Chapter 4.
6. Staff turnover and shared devices
Seasonal, part-time and event staff need access set up quickly and removed just as quickly, often on shared tills and tablets. Shared passwords and ex-staff with live accounts are common weak points.
Best practice: individual logins, centrally managed devices and a simple starter and leaver process.
7. Missed booking calls
Parties, functions, hospitality packages and group bookings still often start with a phone call. Calls missed in busy periods are lost revenue.
Best practice: a cloud phone system with call queues, out-of-hours messages and reporting. See Chapter 5.
8. Keeping several sites consistent
Operators with several venues often find every site set up differently, with different suppliers, passwords and equipment. Problems take longer to fix and costs are hard to see.
Best practice: one standard site build, managed centrally. See Chapter 6.
What these challenges have in common
They look different, but most come down to one thing: tills, ticketing, CCTV, door entry, guest WiFi and back-office systems were added one at a time, often by different suppliers, onto one network. Nobody owns the whole picture until something fails on a busy night.
How Indigo does this. Indigo Unified Communications supports the systems venues depend on: EPOS and tills, ticketing and booking systems, CCTV networks, and door entry and access control. We keep each on its own secure network, monitor them from our Glasgow base, and work directly with your EPOS or ticketing provider when a fault is inside their software, so you have one number to call.
Sources: UK Finance, UK Payment Markets 2025 summary (October 2025) · ISPreview, Openreach confirm post-January 2027 measures for UK analogue phone switch-off, 24 September 2026, https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/09/openreach-confirm-post-january-2027-measures-for-uk-analogue-phone-switch-off.html · DSIT, Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026, 30 April 2026.
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