The term technology is thrown around so much, have we forgotten what it actually means?

The dictionary definition suggests that it’s the application of scientific knowledge or principles for practical purposes or applications. Bit dry isn’t it? My simple brain likes to think it’s just the way stuff works. Better technology makes stuff work better.

In business travel terms we can probably group relevant technological progress into three areas.

1. Improving efficiency and automating repetitive or previously labour-intensive tasks.
2. Driving compliance in terms of generating cost savings or more responsible choices.
3. Improving booker or traveller experience and productivity.

We’ve come a long way in all areas and key step changes like e-tickets, online booking tools and, more recently, robotics are obvious examples that we couldn’t now imagine the industry without.

An area that has always fascinated me is the choice travel managers face when selecting proprietary technology products from their TMC or incorporating third party specialist tools.

Technology offered directly by their TMC tends to be highly configurable and well-positioned to support the way the travel programme has been work-flowed through the TMC’s operation. These synergies can often be compelling.

Sometimes a tool positioned as TMC proprietary is actually “white labelled”, meaning it is in fact engineered and provided by a third party, which enables the TMC to brand and present it as they wish. This isn’t necessarily a drawback of course, just worth knowing.

A key advantage for savvy TMCs to position their own tools is that, if they are successfully adopted by travellers and stakeholders, inherent stickiness of the customer is enhanced. Can you tell I spent most of my career in sales?

Third party tools, on the other hand, aim to promote themselves as highly-specialised, well-resourced and innovative, due to not being tethered to existing TMC systems. In the event of TMC migration, a well-established tool may be retained and ported across to the new environment.

The flipside may be that bespoking to the client’s individual needs may not always be straightforward.

In my conversations with buyers, they understand the pros and cons of each option. They are comfortable taking the technology products offered by their TMC, accepting that this would make potential future decoupling more problematic, provided all their programme needs are met.

Encouraging then, that the technology that makes stuff work better regardless of who the provider is, will be the technology that is selected.

itm.org.uk