Technology
meetings, or in quiet time, on any device they choose.” Sabre vice-president Kyle
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Moore thinks the industry is still only scratching the surface of mobile potential. He says the number of travellers using mobile to book and rearrange travel is on the rise and, if the trends continue, it would benefit everyone in the supply chain. “The mobile creates a new point-of-service for the TMC. Embracing it will further its ability to support travellers in everyday and emergency situations.” Moore predicts corporations and TMCs will increasingly use mobile to support policy management, particularly for tracking out-of-policy bookings. However, the fact the technology exists is of small consolation to many business travellers prohibited from using smartphones and tablets by company policy. Even some who carry a company Blackberry or smartphone are barred from downloading applications not endorsed by their business. Gary Povey, head of sales for
travel and expense management firm Traveldoo, believes it’s an
issue travel managers must overcome as a matter of urgency. “Using mobile technology to communicate, browse and shop is an inherent part of everyday life for most people,” he says. “When they can’t replicate those habits in
meetings and travel for Sony Mobile Communications, each of his travellers is armed with the latest Sony Xperia handset. He says: “Apps are slowly going to shift towards HTML5 solutions because more and
TMCs will increasingly use mobile to support policy management, particularly for tracking out-of-policy bookings
a business travel context, it can be very frustrating, and that irritation will only continue to grow.” Povey says there are a number of ways a travel manager could potentially deal with such a situation. “Perhaps allow employees to provide their own devices – there will be different solutions for different organisations,” he says. “But the reality is travellers have power, information and access in the palms of their hands. It’s an inescapable truth.”
CONSUMER APPS By virtue of his company’s expertise, Philip Haxne is perhaps better placed than most to comment the evolution of mobility. As head of global
more mobile operating systems [OSs] are coming into the marketplace, and it’s becoming too expensive to maintain apps for all OSs.” Haxne adds that mainstream
travel managements apps such as Tripit, Tripcase and Worldmate must soon be able to issue boarding cards and master customer booking demands if they are to surpass supplier apps. The number of apps
downloaded every month by mobile users is less now than a year ago, according to BCD Travel vice-president Torsten Kriedt. “There are signs of market saturation,” he says. “We need to look at how apps can be made more valuable for travellers and find out which ones will really
help. Developers and the travel supply chain need to think about how apps can be integrated with other components to suit specific requirements. There will be more meta apps.”
Kriedt predicts huge sums of money will continue to be poured into the research and development of travel apps, but warns most buyers are not yet ready to take a managed approach. However, Jef Robinson, global category manager at Citrix Systems, told the Business Travel Show survey he expected continued emphasis on mobile apps and more online travel services.
“If TMCs are to compete, they will need to become smarter and incorporate everything third parties offer into their own service offering,” he says. “If corporates or TMCs can consolidate visibility of spend from a diverse supply base, I believe this may well be the way forward.”
Amadeus’s Florian Tinnus says mobile technology has given travellers the ability to create and consume information in an instant. “We’ve moved from ‘what is next’ to ‘what is now’. It enables us to create
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