Travel data management company Grasp Technologies plans to
fully launch by year-end a platform with customizable tools to aggregate and
manage business travel data from multiple sources, according to the company.
Some components of the new Grasp Desktop platform will be rolled out throughout
2014, said Grasp CEO Erik Mueller.
Specifically, Grasp Desktop will bring together in one place
data from sources including travel management companies, credit cards and
expense reports—functionalities now available through separate Grasp modules.
"The new platform will allow us to more easily connect
these different partners and let end users compare and contrast data more
easily," Mueller said.
As do Grasp's existing products, the platform will be able
to work with multiple systems and data sources, Mueller said, as it can convert
different data sources into a standard format that allows Grasp to report
information and then "go in the reverse direction."
"We have a core standard we built on our own that's
agnostic," he explained. "When data comes in—whether it's credit
card, expense, travel management company or global distribution system—it all
gets transformed into something that looks the same so it's easy for us to put
the pieces together. We take it in, in a certain format that's compatible with
these systems."
Rather than offering a fixed dashboard, the new platform
will allow clients to create their own interface, according to the company. By
adding or removing specific data, charts or graphs and adding applications from
Grasp and third parties, clients would be able to view the data most relevant
to their particular business needs in the most useful manner, according to
Mueller.
About 15 additional third-party providers are interested in
partnering with Grasp for the new platform, he claimed.
"Instead of developing components that serve a single
purpose, we created tools that allow [a user] to build their own," Mueller
explained.
Grasp also invested in machine learning—technology that can
learn from data—which will be incorporated into the Grasp Desktop. Once
completed, the technology, for example, will be able to learn which data a user
finds useful (or not) to create analytical reports on travel spend or send
alerts. Such alerts could include notifications of completed expense reports,
unusual transactions and large or out-of-country purchases.
Users also would be able to prioritize and adjust delivery
methods for different alerts. For example, a user could choose to have a
high-priority alert delivered as a text message, while a low-priority alert
could be delivered as an email.
"Each feature, function or report has a certain set of
attributes and interest categories that will allow us to recommend and push
items and information that matches user preferences and workflow," Mueller
said.
Existing Grasp products will remain in existence, he said.
However, Grasp will be able to use its Secure Connect technology to automate
the transfer within 72 hours of three years worth of data for clients wishing
to upgrade to Grasp Desktop.
Complete implementation, which would include configuration,
training and customization, would take up to 40 days, according to Mueller. The
new product will be sold at a flat fee, he said.
Mueller said the idea for Grasp Desktop was part of the
company's original platform concept, developed in 2000. However, the actual
product has been in the planning and architecture phase for the past three
years.
When asked if target clients would be quick to adopt the new
technology—considering the industry can be slow to embrace new solutions—Muller
responded: "We have to continue to evolve and we have to be ready when the
market is ready … even if we only have a handful of people who find that
important to them."
Grasp also relaunched its consultancy department in October
with the appointment of travel technology veteran Joe Monaghan.
This report
originally appeared in the February 2014 edition of Travel Procurement.