INNOVATION REPORT 2015


The advance of cloud computing and


software as a service (SaaS) has had an impact on technology budgeting, says SITA, with expenditure moving out of chief information officers’ remit as other departments invest in SaaS functions. This is seeing companies looking for


better insight into their own technology spend, although Pickford said the trend has not seen an overall decrease in IT budgets, which are increasing in 2015.


CHALLENGES AT SEA Similar challenges are facing ferry and cruise operators, which are all seeking to ensure guests on board their vessels have access to things like quality Wi-Fi wherever they are at sea. Jon Wood, chief information officer


at Carnival UK, the parent of leading UK cruise operators P&O Cruises and Cunard, said: “Over the years spend on technology has remained fairly consistent in spite of the recession. “The bigger challenge is


prioritisation of where you spend your capital resources and how. What’s been an eye-opener for me is the natural limitations around how you access and deploy technology in a steel hull.” Wood said firms that operate ships


are facing increasing demands from customers for things like all-pervasive Wi-Fi. At the same time there’s demand from their own in-house sales teams for more-modern systems as well as, crucially in cruise that sells more than 80% via agents, from the trade. Wood said what this points to is a


need to stop supporting legacy “islands” of technology developed for different parts of a business – onshore, offshore, operational or sales and marketing – that are not fully integrated.This might mean completely replacing old systems where possible or keeping what is necessary and bolting on new software to make the systems work together.


“INNOVATIONNOWIS NOT JUST WHAT YOU SPEND BUT HOW YOULEVERAGE IT”


Just as with airlines and hotels,


cruise operators are looking to ensure all its customers have a consistent, seamless journey as they move from research to post-holiday and from one technology system to another. “It makes sense for everyone to be


sharing the same networks but they have got to be partitioned so they remain secure,” Wood said. The impact on spend on the different


types of technology in the cruise sector has, therefore, not necessarily seen a major shift but there are changing demands within each category. “Hardware costs are increasing for


us but in different areas,” said Wood. “Previously it was all about servers and data storage, but with the advent of the cloud that’s no longer cost-effective, so now it’s the basic infrastructure.” Carnival UK is part of the world’s


largest cruise operator, Carnival Corporation, and it hopes to exploit its massive scale to make its technology spend go further than its rivals’. This allows enterprise-wide systems to be put in place but ones that are flexible enough to be adapted to each of the operator’s brands and even down to ship level. At Carnival this will tend to steer


technology spend more to in-house development as gaining economies of scale through bespoke build can be better justified. Wood added that cruise is also not


that well-served by third-party technology, although he said there was a balance to be struck. Carnival is also following a


two-speed strategy to technology investment, moving quickly where


possible and at slower speed when doing the more complex systems replacement or upgrading. So how does all this activity add up


to innovation in the on-the-water sector of the travel industry? Wood said: “There has been a view


we’ve all had to play catch-up but what we are seeing now is it’s not just what technology you source but how you leverage it. We have brought in talent at a senior level and are starting to look at things in a different way. It’s a mindset rather than just throwing money at it.”


HOTELS GET TECHY While the hotel industry is also investing to address the same rising demands from customers, it is also being pushed by OTAs and retailers, who see opportunities in offering such services themselves. At last year’s PhocusWright


conference in Los Angeles, Sam Shank, founder of HotelTonight, the same-day booking app, set out his vision of the modern hotel stay. He described an experience where new-style personal concierges are employed by hotels, freeing up staff from time-consuming bureaucratic roles by automation. This will mean a more personalised


experience, with the end of face-to-face check-in, and even room keys as sensors to automate these processes. Smart lifts will automatically take


guests to their floor; body sensors will deliver breakfast as guests wake up; and integration with Spotify will ensure guests’ favourite music is playing in the lobby when they arrive, he said. Google Nest in rooms will set the


environment in the room according to the known preference of each guest and in-room entertainment, and even the contents of the fridge are set according to known preferences. Shanks said: “The real promise of


technology and mobile in particular is that it liberates us. It automates mundane tasks.”


34 — FEBRUARY 2015 — TRAVOLUTION.CO.UK


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