ExpenseItems - 2003-05-12

Concur Aligns With EDS, Sapient For Reseller Partnerships

Concur Technologies during a quarterly conference call with shareholders last month announced reseller agreements with information technology services company Electronic Data Systems and business and technology consulting service Sapient. Concur's stable of reseller partnerships also include payroll and tax filing mammoth ADP and Microsoft Business Solutions, which together have fostered "well over 500 customers" within the midmarket, according to Concur CEO Steve Singh.

EDS currently has more than 35,000 corporate and government clients throughout the world, with a strong foothold outside of the United States. While its previous alliances have focused on producing customers in the midmarket, Concur said it partnered with EDS to cultivate 4,000 new global customers. Singh said the bottomline impact from the partnerships probably would not be seen for another four to six quarters, allowing the relationships time to mature.

Last quarter, Concur saw a slip in license revenue, which returned $1.5 million below expectations. However, the expense management vendor said subscription revenue was up 127 percent, offsetting the decline in license sales. Concur said that since significant capital investments are on hold at many companies, more are selecting a hosted solution, which requires less money on the onset of service. During the past three years, Concur said, the historical cost for license fees has averaged $250,000.

Meanwhile, EDS last week announced that it had lost $126 million in the first quarter of this year. According to its annual report, EDS signed $3 billion in contracts this quarter compared with $7.2 billion in contracts during the corresponding quarter last year. Officials said the numbers reflect "management's decision not to pursue certain business and an increasingly competitive sales environment." EDS' tumultuous quarter also included the resignation of chairman and CEO Ralph Brown. The company said it would hold a meeting in mid-June to address EDS' strategy in the face of continued hardship.



Necho Adds Global Functionality To New System

Toronto-based automated expense management vendor Necho Systems on April 25 launched Necho Expense 7.0, the latest version of its Lotus Notes-based expense reporting module. The company is attempting to step up its global reach with more multinational capabilities, which include out-of-the-box support in five languages and the ability to handle any ISO currency on one report. Necho also added functionality to its VAT reclamation functionality, which automatically breaks out international spend that warrants a VAT refund.

Necho partnered with Ireland-based Fexco, an international tax reclamation company to help market the new version. Fexco will offer the Necho solution to customers with no money down since "the money you're going to save in VAT will pay for the solution," according to a Necho spokesperson. Through the new software, Necho "will provide customers with the most globally compliant solution in the market today," said Necho president and CEO Scott Anderson.

Necho also has partnered with Austin, Texas-based Data Junction and MasterCard International. Data Junction, a systems integrator, helped Necho formulate open-ended integration with such ERP systems as SAP and Peoplesoft, among others. MasterCard worked with the expense management vendor to allow for level-three data acceptance.

Meanwhile, to boost sales among companies in the Midwest, Necho recently opened a new office in Chicago, which will be headed by Necho vice president of U.S. operations Malcolm Ward. Necho also named former Kronos Inc. executive Lori Fairbrother as vice president of global sales and business distribution. Necho said that Fairbrother's focus would be to drive steady expansion in the United States and that through her addition and the office opening the company is "poised for rapid U.S. growth."



Orbitz For Business To Accept UATP

Orbitz on April 21 announced that Orbitz for Business would accept UATP as valid payment from corporate accounts. The two companies also will be cross-marketing some services through the Orbitz site. When a company pursues an Orbitz for Business account, the option to sign up for a UATP account will be provided on the site, said Ken Murphy, UATP vice president of marketing. The payment network also is exploring acceptance options at other such online travel management companies as Expedia, Murphy said. "We're expanding our reach to more of the market outlets and points of sale that people use to purchase travel."