Industry Groups Standardizing Data

<B> Industry Groups Standardizing Data</B>
<I>OTA To Begin Testing Computer Language, NBTA Implements Universal Openness</I>

By Barbara Cook and Cheryl Rosen

The need for computer systems to speak with one another is pushing technology developers to agree on data standards, and two travel industry groups are making strides toward that end.

The broadest, The Open Travel Alliance, this month will begin pilot testing Version 1.0 of its language standards and hold a demonstration in which four companies, including McCord Travel Management and RezSolutions, will share standardized data involving customer profile information.

The National Business Travel Association and Amtrak this month joined the OTA, bringing membership to more than 70 companies and organizations (<I>BTN</I>, June 7). The alliance is creating data identifiers to be used with eXtensible Markup Language (XML), which is becoming the standard Internet language.

NBTA also this month set a "universal data export standard" of its own, asking suppliers to ensure that their data is open and provides open exports, is complete and includes all data collected, is offered freely, is reliable and of high quality, and is available worldwide. The group endorsed PrismXport as the first data standard to meet the criteria.

Prism founder Michael Whitesage, meanwhile, this month is taking his data standardization program global.

The OTA is focusing on travel data being shared in broad Web-based e-commerce applications, and as an association of major suppliers, likely will take some time before coming up with solutions. Whitesage, on the other hand, is more focused on standardizing the way global suppliers report on segment data for corporate customers in the here and now.

"A standard is like a style sheet," he said. "Internationally, the GDSs work essentially the same way, but European and Asian suppliers don't necessarily store all the segment data buyers want. We're saying, 'Retain that data, and hand it over.' "

OTA's effort will "allow easier cross-industry technology development and tighter integration with suppliers and customers, particularly for distribution" over the Internet, said chairman Nick Lanyon. For travel managers, he noted, such a standard will allow them to "connect to suppliers better and in a standard fashion, so their CIOs will allow integration with internal systems, integrate outsourcing services and connect to multiple channels of distribution." The board is "anxious to get input from corporations," Lanyon added.

Currently, OTA operates as five working groups--air, car, hotel, leisure supplier and non-supplier--with an interoperability committee to coordinate their efforts. Each group is defining specific data terms in XML to allow the exchange of Internet-compatible messages. The individual results will be combined into one uniform set of data tags for the industry.

Addressing delegates at the recent New Frontiers in Travel Distribution conference, OTA chairman Jim Young, director of distribution strategy at Continental Airlines, said, "with XML, we can get ahead of the curve" as the industry seeks to expand distribution opportunities. The products and services now being offered by travel suppliers and sellers are more complex, and require an upgrade in the messaging protocol used.

ASTA vice president for Industry Affairs and Technology and OTA officer Stephanie Kenyon said her association views XML as "a new technology opportunity for travel agents to free them from the technological barriers of today's legacy system." XML, coupled with travel industry data tags, will allow the industry "to marry up our systems" and allow customers to communicate with travel agencies through cell phones and PDAs, she said.

According to Ray Kopsa, vice president of Internet strategy for REZsolutions and technology advisor to the OTA board, challenges to overcome in developing a uniform messaging standard for the travel industry include the diverse constituency of the alliance, technical and intellectual management issues, and keeping the standards flexible enough to allow both uniformity and room for expansion.

No segment of the travel community will be negatively impacted "if they are willing to change along with the times," Young said. Kopsa noted that no one benefits from today's standards, which are difficult to use and costly to implement. Even companies that have large investments in existing technology see the benefits of change, he said, in "this aggressive and dynamic market."

"There will be multiple systems that will serve multiple purposes as we move forward," Kenyon said. She acknowledged that there has been some question about whether GDSs will suffer from the adoption of a uniform XML standard, but added, "They continue to serve an important purpose in handling huge volumes of data."

The point, she said, is really to focus "not so much who will be left by the wayside, but on where opportunities lie.