Concur Debuts 7.0 And New Compliance ToolConcur Technologies this week plans to launch version 7.0 of its expense reporting software, which will mark the company's first new version of Concur Expense since its acquisition of Captura Inc. last year. Boasting an updated architecture and a more global reach, the company said the new system comprises the "best of both" by integrating some Captura functionality into Concur's expense reporting platform. The new version offers multiple language functionality—including the addition of Japanese—and enhanced global reporting capabilities, among other features. Concur said that such early adopters as Citigroup and Pfizer Inc. have been testing the new system. While some former Captura clients continue to run on Captura's system, Concur vice president of sales and marketing Elena Donio said that by early 2005 all former Captura clients would be running on Concur software.
Meanwhile, Concur last month launched Concur Compliance Solutions, a set of software and services addressing the need for more visibility into corporate spending, compliance and T&E fraud. Designed to work in conjunction with Concur's Corporate Expense Management products, the new functionality adheres to more stringent auditing and financial reporting controls set in place by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Passed last year, the legislation responded to the emergence of high-profile corporate fraud cases à la Enron and WorldCom. Donio, citing a study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, said 22 percent of corporate fraud comes from expense reimbursement schemes. Through the offering, Concur is leveraging its partnership with business intelligence software provider Cognos Inc., which powers the system.
Expense Startup Launching This MonthFollowing a period of consolidation, which itself trailed a period of decline
(BTN, July 30, 2001), the expense management market may be getting its first new entrant in years. Though it has yet to announce any clients, recently formed Seattle-based software developer Onrain Inc. this month will enter the market with a Web-based expense reporting platform for small and midmarket companies. OnrainExpense will be low-cost yet highly customizable to give smaller companies the value that larger ones have witnessed through automating expense reporting. "The value proposition down to 100 employees using the system is as great as for large companies," said president and CEO Cher Paige, who co-founded the company in January with John Toman, Onrain vice president of product planning and development. "It's easy to deploy, configurable and at a price that midmarket companies can afford." Paige said the company this month would announce its first clients.
Necho Partners W/ DatabeaconNecho Systems Corp. last month announced a partnership with Ottawa-based Databeacon Inc., a Web reporting and data analytics company, to expand online reporting and analysis capabilities. Through the partnership, Necho said customers now have the ability to view, create and collaborate on reports without the installation of "client-side software." Necho CEO Scott Anderson said the partnership will "enable us to expand our client base with customers requiring sophisticated analytics programs."
AirPlus Grows Int'l BizGerman-based AirPlus International, a centralized travel payment mechanism, bucked a general trend in the corporate payment market last month when it announced revenues for 2002 increased 13 percent. The company last year witnessed $8 million in sales processed for corporate accounts and a $3.3 million dollar pre-tax profit. The company cited successful expansion into international markets for its positive numbers. "While revenue in Germany has remained constant, growth abroad has almost doubled," said AirPlus board member Peter Metzler. "In four years, our goal is to draw almost half of our revenue from business abroad."
~Jay Boehmer