Rebuilding Under The Hood, GetThere Says Acquisition Unlikely

GetThere plans to keep fairly quiet the migration of its two platforms, Sabre BTS and GetThere DirectCorporate, to a single, common system. "As we speak, we're beginning to roll out a new architecture, but it will be deliberately low profile," said COO Jeff Palmer in an interview yesterday with Business Travel News.

"As I introduce the new architecture, I want it to be subtle so it does not disrupt momentum," he added. "We built substantial components in 2001 and will be rolling them out in 2002. We're phasing it in in pieces because every one of my customers is now booking on my system." Palmer said this "rebuilding under the hood" ought to be done slowly because "travel managers don't request disruption on their RFPs."

Palmer said that after Sept. 11, GetThere took advantage of a substantial drop in bookings and revenues to "catch our breath" and "redouble our efforts to shore up system stability and capacity." Nonetheless, the company did participate in some "quite manageable" staff reductions initiated by parent company Sabre. He would not be more specific about where the cuts were made or how many there were.

As for 2002, Palmer expects GetThere to continue to focus on customer adoption of its existing products, to introduce new products and to expand partnerships with travel management companies. What's not likely to happen, he said, is an acquisition by GetThere. "I don't think there's any pressing need for that, but as part of business development, we do ask, 'Where does it make sense to do licensing or a partnership or an acquisition?' " he said. "But that's a byproduct of a larger strategy, not the strategy itself."