wage standards will be enacted in future periods either federally or in state and local jurisdictions. In addition, regulatory actions which result in changes to healthcare eligibility, design, and cost structure could occur. Any increases in minimum and/or tipped wages or increases in employee benefits costs could result in sustained higher labor costs.
Our operating margin will be adversely affected to the extent that we are unable or are unwilling to offset any increase in these labor costs through higher prices on our products. Our distributors and suppliers also may be affected by higher minimum wage and benefit standards which could result in higher costs for goods and services supplied to us.
Our success depends on our ability to attract, motivate, and retain qualified employees to keep pace with our growth strategy. If we are unable to do so, our results of operations may also be adversely affected.
Risks Related to Technology, Privacy and Intellectual Property
We rely heavily on information technology, and any material failure, weakness, cybersecurity breach, or other interruption could prevent us from effectively operating our business.
We rely heavily on information systems in all aspects of our operations, including point-of-sale systems, digital apps, financial systems, marketing programs, e-commerce, and various other processes and transactions. This reliance has significantly increased in recent years as we have had to depend to a greater extent on systems such as online ordering, contactless payments, and online waitlists as our guests are increasingly using our website and digital applications to place and pay for their orders. Our point-of-sale processing in our restaurants includes collection of cash, credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and other processes and procedures. Our ability to efficiently and effectively manage our business depends significantly on the reliability, security, and capacity of these systems. As our business needs continue to evolve, these systems will require upgrading and maintenance over time, consequently requiring significant future commitments of resources and capital. As we become increasingly reliant on digital ordering and payment as a sales channel, our business could be negatively impacted if we are unable to successfully implement, execute, or maintain our consumer-facing digital initiatives. Additionally, the increased use of remote work has increased the susceptibility of our infrastructure to disruption.
The failure of these systems to operate effectively, maintenance problems, upgrading or transitioning to new platforms, or a material breach in the security of these systems could result in delays or errors to guest service and reduce efficiency in our operations. In addition, as we implement new technology platforms to improve productivity and overall guest experience, there can be no guarantees that these platforms will operate as reliably or be as operationally impactful as intended.
We have disaster recovery procedures and business continuity plans in place to address physical and technological crises, including tornadoes and other natural disasters, and back-up off-site locations for recovery of electronic and other forms of data information. However, if we are unable to fully implement our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, we may experience delays in recovery of data, inability to perform vital corporate functions, tardiness in required reporting and compliance, failures to adequately support field operations, and other breakdowns in normal communication and operating procedures that could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and exposure to administrative and other legal claims.
Our systems may be vulnerable to a variety of threats and the rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may intensify our cybersecurity risks. These risks can include unauthorized access, theft, use, destruction, or other compromises of our systems and can occur through a variety of methods, including attacks using malware, ransomware, denial of service attacks, or phishing incidents. While we have not had a cybersecurity incident that has had a material impact on our operations, there can be no assurances that such incidents will not occur in the future. Any such attack or disruption could cause an interruption of normal business operations, damage to our reputation, and a loss in guest confidence. Additionally, we could be subject to litigation and government enforcement actions as a result of any such failure. Any such event could cause us to incur significant unplanned expenses in excess of our insurance coverage, which could have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, our ability to expand and update our information technology infrastructure in response to our growing and changing needs could be inhibited in the event of a cybersecurity incident. This could lead to a delayed implementation of new service offerings, disruptions to guest experiences including via our website and applications, and the diversion of resources that would otherwise be invested in expanding our business and operations.