Prism Competitors Stand United: Trio Seeks To Initiate Standard Data For Airlines, Ensure Buyer Choice

Seeking to help their clients break out of what one airline executive called "the Prism prison," Cornerstone Information Systems, Hi-Mark Software and TRX Inc. last week said they joined forces to establish a standard for the airlines' intake of corporate travel data that requires less detail than does Prism.

Prism Group, two years after its controversial introduction as Continental Airlines' data consolidator of choice, this month also became the exclusive provider for United Airlines (BTN, March 25).

Speaking together with Business Travel News, the three strange bedfellows voiced their plans to build support for a standard that could be founded on the following five data elements: market pair, client's total segments for that pair, the value of those segments, airline's share of those segments, and the value of that airline's segments. Asked about such other key data points as class of service, the trio said their hope is that an industry initiative on the matter would identify additional elements that may be necessary.

Leading the call were Bloomington, Ind.-based Cornerstone Information Systems president Mat Orrego, Atlanta-based Hi-Mark Software president Kevin Austin and Susan Hopley, president of TRX data services division in McLean, Va.

In response, Albuquerque, N.M.-based Prism president Michael Whitesage said his airline clients already use a standard, the Airline Data Transfer protocol. Whitesage said he welcomes competition for his systems. "If they have something of value, I'm sure the airlines would love to see it," he said. "But the airlines are not just looking for data consolidation."

Whitesage noted that in addition to providing data, Prism offers its airline customers contracting and decision support tools under the SalesServer brand. That system more closely resembles decision support tools from such companies as Cleveland-based Travel Analytics, not what Cornerstone, Hi-Mark and TRX offer.

"These airlines have chosen Prism to collect and also to report and analyze these contracts," said Hi-Mark's Kevin Austin. "Other airlines we've talked to already have their own third-party systems to measure contracts and analyze data but don't have a system to collect the data. What they need is simply a consistent, reliable way to gather data, but our customers and others have voiced a concern about having to provide the excessive level of detail that Prism requires. These other third parties don't require that level of detail for their airline analysis products."

According to Whitesage, the data are required for a proprietary consolidation process and are subject to protection by contract and by virtue of Prism's federal designation as a Safe Harbor. "We're not experiencing those objections," Whitesage said. "While we were being criticized last year, the program grew from 400 to 1,700 companies and today amounts to 2,400."

Fighting the requirement that buyers send data to a single, competing consolidator clearly is a matter of self-interest for Prism's competitors, but a handful of large-account travel managers last week voiced support for any initiative that battles the mandatory nature of the Continental and United deals with Prism.

"I'm very supportive of the move by airlines toward market share goals using a third-party independent data analysis company," said Kevin Iwamoto, global airline and car supplier manager in global operations procurement for Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, Calif., a Hi-Mark client. "However, it should be equitably funded by both corporation and the airline supplier and adhering to the guidelines for data privacy. It's understandable that Prism's competitors would band together so as not to be left out of this burgeoning trend of third-party data analysis.

"I believe that coming up with a standard set of data parameter requirements and asking the corporate customer to provide their data in that format from a vendor of their choice, or mutually agreed upon by both customer and airline, is the way to go," added Iwamoto, who also is president of the National Business Travel Association.

According to a TRX data services client, director of corporate travel services Richard Wooten of Lockheed Martin, "This Prism data thing does not bode well for our relationships with airlines—it's not conducive to partnership. I firmly believe we own the data and should be working with folks who are not directly aligned with an airline."

"With Continental, there were fierce words and some companies dumped their contracts," added Austin. "Now that United is doing it, it's as though both carriers are saying, 'This is how it will be and you'd better get used to it.' "

"The point of us getting together is to provide some support for the industry," said Hopley. "The three of us are united in providing an opportunity for corporations in the U.S. and globally to support their contracts with suppliers in such a way that ensures independence and the ability to control one's own data."

The trio was set this week to begin gathering support for the movement, starting with their own customer bases.

Since it is Prism's client carriers—not Prism—that have required clients to send data to Prism, the airlines' point of view is paramount. Whitesage said more airlines will soon buy his system, something his three competitors appear to be attempting to derail by redirecting the debate before the rest follow suit.

Asked whether this was a matter of Prism getting to Continental and United first, Austin said, "Yeah." He said both Hi-Mark and TRX are having discussions with other major carriers.

Delta Air Lines has not made a decision about going with a single provider.

"All else being equal, choice is good," said Dan Cupertino, director of industry sales for Delta Air Lines. "Unfortunately, when it comes to technology, choice tends to add cost."

Complicating the matter may be American Airlines, which one buyer said relies exclusively on its own reporting. "AA refuses to accept booked data, no matter what form it comes in, which could make this whole issue moot," said the corporate travel manager.