Talaris Signs GetThere, Sun Microsystems
Sabre's GetThere subsidiary last month announced a "strategic relationship" with San Francisco-based Talaris Corp., formerly known as Gazoo Corp. (BTN, Sept. 26). When fully integrated, possibly by year-end, Talaris will provide users of GetThere's corporate self-booking tool with an array of additional services, including restaurant reservations, shipping and courier services and dry cleaning.
Available via computers, mobile phones or personal digital assistants, Talaris "automatically identifies service providers, procures the requested service and synchronizes with the mobile professional's calendar and content manager," according to a press statement. The technology also will automate the rebooking of cars and hotels—incorporating corporate rules and spending limits—to protect the traveler in the event of a flight cancellation, automatically notifying key parties of the changes. Talaris said its network of business service providers exceeds 120,000.
As part of the deal, GetThere will deploy Talaris services for internal use. Talaris also signed a marketing partnership and customer agreement with Santa Clara, Calif.-based tech giant Sun Microsystems. Pricing for the Talaris service likely will take the form of a separate subscription fee that, in some cases, a certain department within a corporation, such as sales, would pay. While GetThere will sell the combined services, Talaris also will sell its services independently. The deal precludes Talaris from signing with another corporate self-booking vendor. GetThere said some of its existing clients already are close to signing on.
Extensity Teams With E-Travel, Amadeus
Waltham, Mass.-based corporate self-booking vendor E-Travel and parent company Amadeus have partnered with T&E expense management system vendor Extensity Inc. of Emeryville, Calif., to share sales referrals and, eventually, to integrate the two systems. According to a press statement, the companies will offer customers a single sign-on to both systems through Extensity's Connect software, automating the process from pre-trip approval to expense reimbursement.
Cornerstone, Worldspan Partner
Bloomington, Ind.-based Cornerstone Information Systems last month announced an agreement with Worldspan to offer Worldspan agencies Cornerstone's quality control and document delivery applications, including the ResFAX and ResMAIL products originally developed by Automated Travel Systems and acquired by Cornerstone in 2000. Meanwhile, Cornerstone late last month bought the Audit and RateDesk applications from Dallas-based Lanyon Inc.
Prism's Avion Clients Top $1 Billion in Air
The Prism Group last month said eight companies—including Aon, Philips and Viacom—with a combined $1.2 billion in air purchasing—had licensed the Albuquerque, N.M.-based technology and consulting firm's Avion data consolidation, contract management and decision support system. About a quarter of clients elected to completely outsource system administration to Prism, the company stated.
Ge Capital: Most Move Online For Card Mgmt.
Two-thirds of companies will implement a self-service application for corporate card program management within a year, if they haven't done so already, according to a study of more than 80 companies and universities using seven different corporate cards conducted in July and August by GE Capital Financial Inc. Of those that currently use a self-service application, less than two-thirds of administrators allow their cardholders access—but not because they want control. The study identified communication and training issues as the main obstacles to cardholder usage.
~Jay Campbell